San Francisco Bay Times - August 23, 2018

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LGBTQ News & Calendar for the Bay Area

CELEBRATING FOUR DECADES (1978–2018)

ORIGINAL ART BY DEBRA WALKER/SPECIAL TO THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY TIMES

August 23–September 5, 2018 | sfbaytimes.com

Remembering Aretha Franklin Long Live the Queen of Soul Aretha touched our souls and put us in touch with our own hearts, souls and the blues and joy of trying to love ourselves and one another. A deeper love inside.

She gifted the world a resounding, declarative anthem for liberation and freedom. Civil rights, women’s rights movements and sexual revolution were amped up and fueled, empowered and emboldened by R-E-S-P-EC-T. Find out what it means to me!

Cross Currents Andrea Shorter “Ain’t no way.”

I can hardly imagine living in a world without Aretha Franklin.

From the womb, the singularly definitive voice of Aretha was destined to have an eternal presence in my life.

Like the air that we breathe, her voice was an essential, vital element to being and feeling fully alive. It came as close as mortals might ever come near to hearing the voice of the Divine right here on Earth. Her voice was the light, the truth, the gospel. Comfort. Love.

Hope. Gifted. Black. Respect. A bridge over troubled waters.

The daughter of a preacher man, she inspired, baptized and redeemed us all.

All at once transparent and transcendent, she was a force of nature, a revolutionary act in and of herself.

She humbled presidents, kings and queens. She sent our own King home with Precious Lord, Take My Hand.

Years later, she helped to free Angela.

Aretha perfected the perfect of Redding, King, Bacharach & David, Lennon & McCartney, Simon & Garfunkel, Taupin & John, Mayfield, The Band, Simone and Cook. Whatever song she borrowed, it was redefined. It became naturally hers and a signature. Respect. Natural Woman.

Say a Little Prayer. Let It Be. Bridge Over Troubled Waters. The Border Song. The Weight. Sparkle. Young, Gifted, and Black.

A Change Is Going to Come.

Before there was #BlackGirlMagic, Aretha took us to church and brought the church to us along with soul sister Mavis to deliver us all to salvation with “Oh Happy Day” on One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism.

Just the memory of her voice brought a broken nation together in communion and reverence for she who was most truly and undeniably the best of who we are and still can be from sea to shining sea, from Muscle Shoals to the Lincoln Center.

Bring it. The Royal Muse, the Diva Deity that parted the waters to full on inspired grit and expression of rainbow soul of Sylvester, George, Freddie, Melissa, Katy and Elton:

Genius. Titan. The first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 20 Grammy Awards. Beyond a well-crafted Motown crossover, she unapologetically broke through us, brought us to our knees and lifted us up to our feet, to stand our ground with pride, strength, love and peace.

“Holy Moses I have been deceived Holy Moses let us live in peace Let us strive to find a way to make all hatred cease There’s a man over there What’s his color I don’t care He’s my brother let us live in peace

Got “Amazing Grace”? Get it. Now!

He’s my brother let us live in peace He’s my brother let us live in peace” We give thanks for the gift of living in the time of a timeless, eternal voice that now truly belongs to the ages. May she watch over our wounded souls as we strive to find our way back to each other, to live in love, not hatred, and to live in peace and amazing grace.

Rock steady, baby ... a change is gonna come.

Long live the Queen of Soul.

Andrea Shorter is a Commissioner and the former President of the historic San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women. She is a longtime advocate for criminal and juvenile justice reform, voter rights, and marriage equality. A Co-founder of the Bayard Rustin LGBT Coalition, she was a 2009 David Bohnett LGBT Leadership Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

The Legacy of Aretha Franklin Will Forever Thrive in the Castro and Beyond Not long after the passing of Aretha Franklin (1942–2018) was announced on the morning of Thursday, August 16, her immortal legacy became evident in the Castro. We could hear her music flowing out of homes, cars and local businesses. People walking down the streets were talking about her and how she had touched their lives in meaningful ways. That night, a group of women musicians and singers including Dr. Dee Spencer of San Francisco State, Beach Blanket Babylon performer Renee Lubin and vocalist Deborah Coley performed Franklin’s songs in a heartfelt tribute at Beaux on Market Street. As Dr. Spencer told KTVU: “You feel her energy. It’s undeniable.”

Franklin’s energy is also felt on 7th Street in Oakland, where a plaque dedicated to her is part of the Walk of Fame located on the sidewalk in front of the West Oakland BART station (https://bartable.bart.gov/featured/ stroll-walk-fame-west-oakland). Also honored are Etta James, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday and local legends like Oakland’s own Samuel Saunders King.

You can feel her energy at SVN West at 10 South Van Ness Avenue, the former site of the historic Fillmore West music venue. There, in 1971, Franklin performed a three-night series of concerts that Rolling Stone now lists among the 50 greatest concerts of the last 50 years (https:// www.rollingstone.com/music/musiclists/the-50-greatest-concerts-oft he-la st- 50 -yea r s -1270 62/ ). We are grateful that video preserves at least one of these performances: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Vyx34kgHGng&t=388s

We are additionally grateful for Franklin’s lifelong support of the LGBT community. According to the book Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin by David Ritz, her sister Carolyn (1944–1988) was a lesbian.

Her other sister Erma (1938–2002), concerning Carolyn, said to Ritz: “I consider her a great woman ... . She went her own way, lived her own life, and found freedom in her individuality. She had no shame about her sexual preference and spoke the unvarnished truth.”

Carolyn—a talented musician in her own right—and Aretha collaborated on songs such as “Ain’t No Way” and “Baby, Baby, Baby,” which includes the line: “if loving you is so wrong, then I’m guilty of this crime.” Aretha went on to sing at same-sex marriages before they were legalized nationwide, to record with numerous well-known LGBT artists and to help fund support for AIDS research. Revealing of her generous nature, she held what was to be her last public performance at Elton John’s AIDS Foundation benefit in New York last November.

It is hard to imagine the LGBT rights movement, feminism and the ongoing overall struggle for civil rights without “Respect” and other Franklin anthems that are an enduring part of American history and our very souls. Those wishing to follow in her formidable footsteps would do well to consider the following: “Being the Queen is not all about singing, and being a diva is not all about singing,” she said.

“It has much to do with your service to people. And your social contributions to your community and your civic contributions as well.”

About our cover

Artist, activist and San Francisco commissioner Debra Walker created this issue’s cover image honoring Aretha Franklin (March 25, 1942–August 16, 2018). Walker said, “As I was struggling though junior and high school, I relied on music—the music of such legends as Roy Orbison, Gene Pitney, The Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin ... but more so than any other, Aretha Franklin.”

“Aretha’s influence wound its way into the music of every one of the rock and roll and pop artists topping the charts,” Walker continued. “But Aretha’s music touched the heart in much more tender and embracing ways, offering healing and love to tend to the unhealable heartaches of the teenage years. I will never forget the empowering words of ‘Respect,’ just as this young woman needed it to face the realities of the world.”

“Aretha soothed our souls as only the Queen of Soul could, bridging gospel and jazz and soul into the ‘Me Generation’ and the revolution of the Summer of Love, as if to make it real.” Walker then paused in reflection before repeating, “As if to make it real.”

Debra Walker: http://www.debrawalker.com/ The Official Aretha Franklin Site: http://www.arethafranklin.net/

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Marriage Equality Delayed Is Marriage Equality Denied dicial decision or in opposition subsiding. They seem to have the opposite effect. Opponents have time to devise strategies to undermine the decision, confuse it, or to delay it further, thereby denying citizens their rights and diminishing respect for the court in the eyes of the lawmakers and the public.

6/26 and Beyond Stuart Gaffney & John Lewis

Indeed, the Constitutional Court in Taiwan ruled in favor of full marriage equality 15 months ago, but instead of giving its decision immediate effect, it allowed the government two years to implement. If the government fails to act, marriages will begin in May 2019. The legislature has so far not acted, and the delay has given opponents of equality time to organize petition drives for referenda seeking to undermine the court’s decision on the November 24, 2018, national election ballot.

Six months ago, we reported on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ groundbreaking decision in favor of marriage equality.

That court has jurisdiction over the 23 Latin American and Caribbean countries who are currently active parties to the American Convention on Human Rights. The ruling was unambiguous: only marriage equali- As of press time, the referenda have ty, not a lesser alternative such as civ- yet to have been certified for the ballot and what, if any, legal effect il unions, suffices. they might have given the primacy The ruling, however, did not pro- of the Constitutional Court’s deciduce marriage equality overnight sion is unclear. The possible referthroughout Latin America and the enda and resulting confusion, howCaribbean as the U.S. Supreme ever, may give the Taiwanese public Court decision did across this coun- the impression that LGBTIQ’s peotry three years ago. The Inter-Amer- ple’s constitutional rights are still up ican Court of Human Rights lacks for grabs. And if passed, the referenthe enforcement power to compel da could weaken resolve to enforce member states to comply, although the 2017 decision or further emboldthose countries are still bound by the court’s interpretation of the hu- en opponents. No one knows betman rights treaty to which they are ter than we Californians the horror signatories. The bottom line is that of having our fundamental constieach member nation must change its tutional rights and our marriages laws through its own legislatures or put up for a popular vote. This Nocourts to abide by its treaty obliga- vember marks the 10-year annivertions, and they face no binding time- sary of the passage of Proposition 8, which took 5 years in the courts to line to do so. overturn.

This month Costa Rica, the country that requested the Human Rights We are thankful that the U.S. SuCourt opinion, became the f irst preme Court did not give individual country to take a major step toward states across the country 18 months meeting its commitments when its or 2 years to implement its 2015 marSupreme Court ruled that excluding riage equality ruling. Local comLGBTIQ couples from marriage was munities all across the country, from discriminatory and unconstitutional. Maine to Hawaii, Alaska to Florida, But, unfortunately, that court gave witnessing happy LGBTIQ couples the national legislature 18 months to tying the knot have increased supimplement its decision. If the legisla- port for marriage equality nationture fails to act, the court’s order will wide, and not sown division. A July take effect and marriages for same2018 PRRI poll showed nationwide sex couples will begin in early 2020. support for marriage equality at a We believe that 2020 is too long to record 64 percent, up a whopping 9 wait. We remember that during the percentage points from 3 years ago California Supreme Court’s hear- when the Supreme Court issued its ing 14 years ago on the legality of the decision.

San Francisco marriages of February 2004, Justice Joyce Kennard of the Opposition has fallen to 28 percent.

California Supreme Court asked the Signif icantly, a May 2018 PRRI city: “What’s the rush?” We imme- poll showed that majorities in 44 diately thought of Phyllis Lyon and states now support marriage equaliDel Martin, both over 80 years old ty, with Alabama the lone state with and together for over 50 years, the majority opposition. Still, 41 perfirst couple to marry in San Francis- cent of Alabama residents support co. They and many thousands of oth- equality, and support is near majorer couples like ourselves had waited ity in North Carolina (49%), Louisilong enough. Indeed, every day that ana (48%) and West Virginia (48%), goes by in which an LGBTIQ person with 46% support in Tennessee and is denied equality is a day lost, leav- 42% support in Mississippi. ing them vulnerable to harmful discrimination and denying them their We salute the Costa Rica Supreme Court for ruling in favor of mardignity under the law. riage equality, but LGBTIQ couIn Costa Rica, not one but two ples should not have to wait anothcourts with jurisdiction have found er year and a half to marry. High that the law violates LGBTIQ peocourts and legislatures in other sigple’s constitutional rights, allowing natory countries in Latin America an 18-month delay in implementaand the Caribbean should cease detion that appears untenable. Costa Rican activist Margarita Salas told lay as well. the Tico Times, Costa Rica’s leading English-language newspaper: “It’s a judicial aberration for a state entity to recognize that discrimination exists, and at the same time allow that discrimination to continue for 18 months more.”

Stuart Gaffney and John Lewis, together for over three decades, were plaintiffs in the California case for equal marriage rights decided by the California Supreme Court in 2008. Their leadership in the grassroots organization Marriage Such waiting periods do not appear Equality USA contributed in 2015 to result in a country’s becoming to making same-sex marriage lemore accepting of a final, binding ju- gal nationwide.

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Candidate Endorsements: Speed Dating Without Cocktails

ditional media and social media ads, and anything else to fill the eyeballs and ears of the voting public. Currently, there is no way to directly infiltrate the brain waves of voters, but I have a hunch that Russian scientists and engineers are already working on this technology.

In a previous article (http://sf baytimes. com/keeping-score-san-franciscom a y o r s - r a c e/ ) , I e x p l a i n e d t h a t endorsements are a person’s or group’s support of a candidate for elected office. In that same article, I said that London Breed Well-Behaved would win and that “you heard it here first,” so I got that one right! What then Women Seldom happens in an endorsement meeting and Make History why do they go on for hours and sometimes days? The process is complex and requires Louise “Lou” Fischer a great deal of advance preparation; the actual day of meeting consists of listening While it feels like we just finished an to candidates, discussion and deliberation, election (we did), it’s already late Auand eventually the tabulation of votes. gust. For members of political clubs, elected officials and campaign staff About a month before the actual Endorsethat means it is “Endorsement Sea- ment meeting, the lucky people in charge son,” otherwise known as “Speed of running the meeting monitor the SF Dating Without Cocktails.” Novem- Department of Elections website for canber 6 is only a few months away, and didate and ballot measure registrations. while the eyes of the world are thank- At the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratfully laser-focused on the nation- ic Club, the members of the PAC subal mid-term elections and the goal committee (Political Action Committee) of flipping the House of Representa- divide up the candidates and ballot meatives, here in San Francisco it is that sures, send them the club questionnaire special time for candidates and spon- and schedule them for a 5-minute apsors of ballot measures to meet with pointment on the day of the actual PAC political clubs and community orga- endorsement meeting. nizations and beseech them to “pick I am not sure about other clubs, but at Alme, pick me!” ice, there are no “special favors”; if you Endorsements are done in August for a very specific and strategic reason: they can only start after the filing deadline. Once the final endorsements are decided, clubs that want to start field outreach in mid-September only have a few weeks to prepare and print GOTV (get out the vote) literature such as slate cards, postcards, billboards, robo-calls, radio ads, tra-

are not available on the day of the meeting, you can either send a surrogate or request a phone-in slot. In 2010, our very own Governor Brown called in for his 5-minute slot, but I don’t think that anyone remembered a word he said because we were so excited that the (future) Governor was calling. (He soundly beat Meg Whitman in that race.) (continued on page 26)

A Blue-Green Wave the Environmental Voter Project. As someone who spends my days working on environmental policy for the City of San Francisco and my nights moonlighting as a progressive political organizer and activist, it was a melding of my two worlds. And what I learned was startling: environmentalists don’t vote.

To the Left, To the Left Peter Gallotta The Golden State is on fire. Just a few hours north of San Francisco, the Mendocino Complex Fire has been raging since late July. It is now considered the largest in California’s history and has burned 300,000 acres—an area roughly the size of Los Angeles.

As someone who’s lived in California for only ten years, I’ve learned that wildfires have long been a part of this state’s history. But even a relative newcomer can recognize that the frequency and intensity of these recent fires are not normal. In fact, according to the Los Angeles Times, four of the five largest wildfires in California history have occurred in the past six years alone.

The scientif ic community all but agrees—global temperatures are rising and the effects are wreaking havoc on our planet. Climate change is showing up across the United States in rising sea levels, category four hurricanes, unbearable heat waves and other extreme weather events.

But there’s one place it often doesn’t show up: the voting booth.

Recently I was invited to hear a presentation by a non-partisan, non-prof it org a n i zat ion c a l led

Over 20 million registered voters in the United States list climate as their first or second priority issue. But only half of them turn out to vote. In the 2016 presidential election alone, roughly 10 million environmentalists did not make it to the polls. This is frustrating, not only because these voters could have tipped the scale of the election, but also because they could have actually helped to change national discourse and policy actions on climate.

According to the Environmental Voter Project, voters consistently rank climate change and other environmental issues among their lowest priorities in each election. The results of a poll of likely voters in August 2016 saw “Climate Change & the Environment” ranked 15th out of 19 issues. But who’s missing here? Those 10 million environmentalists who didn’t vote.

When it comes to American elections, no one spends precious campaign resources polling or talking to non-voters to see what they care about. The world is run by those who show up. When environmentalists don’t vote, they can’t demand environmental leadership, and politicians have no reason to supply it. As wildfires burn and heatwaves scorch, climate change will continue to stagnate at 15th on the to do list.

Yet there remains a sleeping green giant in this country and groups like the Environmental Voter Project (EVP) are trying to awaken it. There are 21 states with enormous populations of non-voting environmentalists. Right now, EVP has specifically identified 2.4 million “super” environmentalists across six states, and their goal is to shift 100,000 of them into vot(continued on page 26) S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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More on Gay Male Monogamy Roland Schembari and Bill Hartman, Co-Founders Randy Alfred, Founding News Editor 1978 Kim Corsaro Publisher 1981-2011

2261 Market Street, No. 309 San Francisco CA 94114 Phone: 415-601-2113 525 Bellevue Avenue Oakland CA 94610 E-mail: editor@sfbaytimes.com www.sfbaytimes.com The Bay Times was the first newspaper in California, and among the first in the world, to be jointly and equally produced by lesbians and gay men.

We honor our history and the paper’s ability to build and strengthen unity in our community.

The Bay Times is proud to be the only newspaper for the LGBT community in San Francisco that is 100% owned and operated by LGBT individuals.

Dr. Betty L. Sullivan Jennifer L. Viegas Co-Publishers & Co-Editors

Beth Greene Michael Delgado Abby Zimberg Design & Production

Kate Laws Business Manager Blake Dillon Calendar Editor

Examined Life Tom Moon, MFT From a Reader: I read what you wrote in your last column (August 9) about young gay men preferring monogamy, and all I can say is that, based on my recent experience, you sure could have fooled me. I wanted to introduce my new partner Gabriel to my friends, so I took him to an event where they were all present.

Gabe is a super hot guy, and maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised at what happened, but the minute we walked in, they were all over him.

Even though I kept introducing him as my other half, it didn’t seem to

matter. They were pawing him, making sexual comments and flirting with him as if I weren’t even there. And then, as we were leaving, one of them pulled out his phone and asked him, “Can I get your number?” I was so shocked that I didn’t say a word, but I’m proud of how Gabe handled it. He took my hand and asked him, “This man is your friend, right?” When the guy said yes, he said, “So why are you coming on to his boyfriend right in front of him?” Without waiting for an answer, he led us out the door. By the time we got home, I was boiling. I was also kicking myself for wimping out. I guess I didn’t speak up because I didn’t want to come off like a jealous, possessive boyfriend. But Gabriel and I are going to get married, and all of my friends know it. Gabe got over it pretty quickly. He said, “Gay guys are dogs. What do you expect?”

But I’m still upset. My question is, should I talk to my friends about this, or should I just forget about it?

Answer: There’s no question about it—you have to tell your friends how you feel about their behavior. You won’t feel good about yourself until you do; and if you say nothing, they’ll think you were fine with it, and it will continue. It is appropriate for you to

expect your friends to honor someone who is precious to you, and to respect your boundaries. It’s a cynical capitulation to shrug the whole incident off with the cliché that gay men are dogs.

Your friends are human beings, and they should be capable of treating you and Gabriel—and themselves—with dignity and ordinary human respect.

I suggest that you wait until your anger has subsided, and then find a time when you feel able to treat them with the same dignity and respect that you want from them. Be firm about your boundaries, but avoid hostility and judgments.

That said, this incident highlights a mitigating factor, which might temper your indignation. It is that the gay male community is still evolving in its attitudes and customs about relationships. The option of marriage, for instance, is still something relatively new. If monogamous commitments are more common than they once were, monogamy as such is by no means a universally shared value.

At this time in our history, collisions of differing assumptions about what it means to be a couple, and how we are supposed to treat the couples in our lives, are inevitable.

Gay couples can’t assume that everyone in the community is on the same page about what constitutes appropriate boundaries. Many guys believe, for instance, that anyone they see in a gay bar is fair game, even if they are obviously a couple—and some couples are fine with that. That’s why it will be important, going forward, for you and Gabriel to be prepared to make it clear what your boundaries are.

I should also add that, in supporting your right to monogamy, I’m not suggesting that monogamy is superior or more preferable than non-monogamy for everyone. One of the things that we of all people should understand is that variety is the spice of life. Over the years, I’ve seen couples thrive in both open and monogamous relationships, and the passionate debates about which way is “better” have always struck me as foolish. There can never be a one-size-fits-all standard for how to conduct our sex and love lives. But one core value on which we all ought to be able to agree is that diversity should be respected and honored.

Tom Moon is a psychotherapist in San Francisco. For more information, please visit his website http:// tommoon.net/

Kit Kennedy Poet-In-Residence J.H. Herren Technology Director Carla Ramos Web Coordinator Mario Ordonez Juan Ordonez Distribution

CONTRIBUTORS Writers Rink, Sister Dana Van Iquity, Ann Rostow, Patrick Carney, Kate Kendell, Alex Randolph, Heidi Beeler, Gary M. Kramer, Dennis McMillan, Tom Moon, Tim Seelig, Cinder Ernst, John Chen Rafael Mandelman, Jewelle Gomez, Phil Ting, Rebecca Kaplan, Kin Folkz, Leslie Katz, Philip Ruth, Peter Gallotta, Bill Lipsky, Karen Williams, Donna Sachet, Gary Virginia, Zoe Dunning, Marcy Adelman, Stuart Gaffney & John Lewis Brandon Miller, Jamie Leno Zimron Michele Karlsberg Lyndsey Schlax, Randy Coleman, Debra Walker, Howard Steiermann, Andrea Shorter, Scott Tsui, Tom Temprano, Lou Fischer, Frankie Bashan, Karin Jaffie, Brett Andrews

SF Sketch Randy Coleman

Randy Coleman hails from New York, but has lived in San Francisco since 1975. Coleman shares that before moving to the Bay Area, he studied Art History and Architecture at Boston University while working as a resident artist for architectural rendering at a Massachusetts historical society. “All of my life I’ve been an artist,” Coleman says. “To know me is to know that I have a passion for art and architecture. I love this project for the San Francisco Bay Times, and hope that you enjoy my sketches.”

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Sign of the Times - August 21, 2018

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CALENDAR Submit events for consideration by e-mail to: calendar@sfbaytimes.com. © 2018 Bay Times Media Company Co-owned by Betty L. Sullivan & Jennifer L. Viegas

© Randy Coleman, 2018

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GLBT Fortnight in Review

By Ann Rostow

It’s a Little Bit Funny I’m not a fan of this headline in Out magazine: “Study says everyone’s at least a little gay.” The article cites a “new study” conducted by the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

There are a number of problems here, starting with the fact that the study was published online in 2015, meaning that it was compiled prior to that. Not new.

Second, I’ve never been totally convinced by research based on people watching porn. No one’s in their right mind watching porn. I remember all of the gay male porn that arrived at the Bay Times office for review back in the day, and it was all vaguely erotic (except for that one about the fire station). That doesn’t mean I’m even a little bit attracted to gay men. Oh, I love you guys, but you know what I mean.

Third, even if a study purports to conclude that, let’s say, “drinking coffee causes tooth decay,” it usually means that one person out of a hundred thousand coffee drinkers might have ended up with an extra cavity or two. These studies are essentially meaningless. It’s just somebody trying to get their graduate degree.

And finally, what does it mean if everyone is a little gay? It’s like saying everyone is a little bit Republican, or everyone has a pinch of Neanderthal DNA, or everyone is a child at heart, or everyone contains a little bit of stardust. It adds nothing to our understanding of humanity, let alone sexual orientation.

I reject it and I condemn the editorial staff responsible for its dissemination.

SCOTUS, We Hardly Knew Ya I’m having a hard time focusing on the various legal travails of our community, considering that the Supreme Court, the final arbiter of our civil rights fate, is in the process of shifting to the enemy. Once, it was exciting to dwell on every detail as some Title VII case slowly wound its way towards a favorable conclusion. Now, it’s like watching your pet kitten slide inexorably towards the edge of a cliff. Fluffy! Come back!

And I’m not the only one. I just read an article pointing out that a zillion GLBT organizations and allies once wrote briefs urging the Supreme Court to accept review of a workplace discrimination suit by a lesbian out of Georgia. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit had ruled that Title VII, the federal law banning discrimination on the job, does not cover sexual orientation claims. But, Dear Reader, we begged to differ, and we begged the High Court to settle the matter.

Last year, the Supreme Court declined to review that Georgia case, and now two more Title VII lawsuits sit in the petition pile. One is brought by the estate of a dead gay skydiver (Zarda!) who won before the full Second Circuit, the other is another Eleventh Circuit case that, predictably, we lost. So, have we jumped into the fray to ask the justices to hear these cases? Um, no.

(Cue: lonely chirping crickets.) That’s because the new Court will likely rule against us, undoing much of our recent progress and cementing antigay jurisprudence into American law. Far better for these cases to go away on their own and far better for these and other GLBT legal challenges to await the next Court shift.

I can hear you moaning. Well, that could take a generation. Yes, and no.

Just two short years ago, we could never have anticipated the Court we face today. Who knows what a few more years will bring?

Bake This, Bozo What else? Speaking of legal news, I burst with frustration whenever the name “Jack Phillips” passes through the headlines. The holier-than-thou Masterpiece Cakeshop owner who sort of won and sort of lost his contest with Colorado civil rights law last June, has proclaimed victory despite the fact that he “won” on a technicality and despite the fact that Justice Kennedy also backed Colorado’s right to ban GLBT discrimination in the public square.

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In other words, Kennedy and his fellow justices (many of whom wrote their own concurrent or dissenting opinions in this case) left a big mess for future courts to unravel at their discretion.

Meanwhile, a year ago while the Masterpiece lawsuit was still waiting for the High Court to decide whether or not to take review, a mischievous transgender woman, Autumn Scardina, called Masterpiece to order a transition celebration cake, blue on the outside and pink on the inside. This was an obvious legal ploy, considering that Scardina explained the symbolism in advance. But still!

Naturally, Phillips took the bait and refused the order on religious grounds, leading Scardina to file a discrimination complaint. A couple of weeks after the High Court ruled on the original Masterpiece suit (which involved a wedding cake for two men) the Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled that Scardina may well have been the target of illegal discrimination.

This means that Jack Phillips is back in the limelight, reprising his role as a martyred baker, a simple man who would happily sell all of us a snickerdoodle, but chooses to distance himself from the heretical trappings of our personal flaws.

In the f irst case, Phillips refused to do any business whatsoever with the two men in question, only later insisting that he would have sold them other things, but that the sale of a wedding cake would be akin to forcing him to promote a same-sex marriage, a violation of his First Amendment right to free speech. This time around, it’s even less clear how the special cake, designed by the client, would trespass on Phillips’ constitutional rights. That said, I have no doubt that his buddies at the Alliance Defense Fund will contrive some arguments to that effect.

The problem here, as mentioned earlier, is that Justice Kennedy’s opinion in the first Masterpiece case was so vague that there’s every reason to believe a new Court could “clarify” the decision to our detriment should this issue reach the Court again.

Meanwhile, another wedding discrimination case is still very much alive, heading back to the Washington Supreme Court, and presumably back to the Supremes from there. This involves Arlene’s Flowers, the shop owned by Barronelle Stutzman, who declined to do business with one of her regular clients: a man who was marrying another man.

The worst part of this case, aside from the fact that it holds the potential to annul gay rights ordinances and laws throughout the country, is that I never know how to spell “Barronelle Stutzman” and have to look it up every time. Two n’s? Two r’s? Are there two n’s at the end of Stutzman? If I ever figure it out, it will be a bad omen.

Hook ‘Em Moving on to the category of people we wish were not even a little bit gay, here’s news that crazy murderous former football player Aaron Hernandez broke down in tears before his attorney when he realized his gay affair (along with a straight affair) might become public at trial. According to a new book by the lawyer, Jose Baez, Hernandez was worried about how his fiancée would react to the information.

“But Jose,” Hernandez said. “She’ll be devastated. I never meant to hurt her. I know I keep disappointing her. But she is my soul.”

I was planning to make fun of Hernandez, who killed himself in prison, because come on! You never meant to hurt her? You had sex with two other people that we know of, and plus you killed a guy for no reason. That said, the guy’s brain was reportedly in shambles, with one of the worst cases of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy that researchers had ever seen. (continued on page 26)

PHOTO COURTESY OF SONYA RICHARDSON

Gay Games 10 in Gay Paree!

The KiAi Way Jamie Leno Zimron By all glowing accounts, the recent early August 2018 Gay Games in Paris were a huge success. The Games were totally thrilling, electric and offered a true rainbow display of diversity and talents. They additionally set the stage for an incredible celebration of LGBTQ athleticism and inclusive world community.

San Francisco is where it all began.

In 1982, Olympic decathlete Dr. Tom Waddell, along with other LGBTQ activists and athletes, conceived of the grand sporting and arts event that would be open to all players regardless of sexual orientation or qualifying ability. Now the world’s most inclusive international sporting event, this year’s Gay Games 10 drew over 10,000 participants, in 36 sports, from 91 countries.

Many journeyed from lands where being gay is illegal, and being out can get them jailed, assaulted or even killed. They came courageously and joyfully, from Kenya, Russia, China, Uganda, Saudi Arabia and other gay-restrictive countries, sometimes with the aid of scholarships from The Games, to meet and compete with brothers and sisters from around the world and across all spectrums of gender, race, religion, nationality, age and ability.

Homophobic discrimination continues to run deep in sports, throughout amateur to professional levels.

Most gay athletes still feel compelled to hide their sexuality if they want to

succeed in their careers. Opportunities for trans athletes are nil at worst and controversial at best. Sexist and heterosexist stereotypes persist, where people are still surprised to see women or gay men being strong, athletic and fierce competitors.

While France and other countries have legalized gay marriage, there has been an uptick in homophobic hate crimes, as backlash against growing gay rights sweeps across many continents. So, The Gay Games provide a colossal experience of LGBTQ pride and unity, unprecedented opportunities for queer athletes, and powerful images and messages for people everywhere about the inherent dignity and equality of all human beings.

Nearly one-third of this year’s participants hailed from our Bay Area mecca of athletic, artistic and gay life. We have so many individual and team medal winners to be proud of, and friends who went to play their gay hearts out and be part of making us a loud and visible force for all the world to see!

I asked a number of friends and colleagues about their experiences in Paris, and am happy to share their stories here. For starters, Pam David, San Francisco community leader extraordinaire who has been making differences for decades, told me for the San Francisco Bay Times: “It was a thrill to play in my 3rd Gay Games, only 32 years after my last— the 2nd Gay Games in San Francisco in 1986! And it was an even bigger thrill to play tennis on the red clay of Paris. I loved that so many countries were represented, though wished more women were present. The economic barriers of participation are real and hard to overcome.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTIE QUINN

Gold and silver medalist Christie Quinn

But how fun it was to join over 10,000 LGBTQ athletes in Paris for 10 days. It reminded me of the ’87 March on Washington for LGBTQ Rights when we turned that city queer for a week, filling the streets, subways and res-

taurants. We did the same to Paris—everywhere one looked there were Gay Games participants with their rainbow ID cards around their neck (and, later, their medals). We were to be found in every Metro car, on the streets, in the cafes and the boats on the Seine—for one glorious stretch, LGBTQ people took over Le Marais and central Paris!

What a testament to the memory of Tom Waddell, Sara Lewinstein, and the others who helped to launch the Gay Games in 1982!”

Beginning also in the early 1980s, Hand to Hand Kajukenbo in Oakland has grown to become one of the most amazing and feminist martial arts schools anywhere in the world.

Every day of the week, they brilliantly fulfill their mission through martial training that “empowers and positively transforms individuals and communities to create a peaceful and just society.”

Led by Chief Instructor Sifu Sonya Richardson and her partner Aarin Burch, Hand to Hand sent a racially and gender diverse delegation of 11 students to Paris, ranging from yellow belts to 7th Degree Black Belt.

They took home an astounding cache of 28 medals in a wide spectrum of categories: empty hand forms, forms with weapons, musical forms, self-defense sparring and the new categories of team forms and two person fighting set.

Hand to Hand’s success was phenomenal, though not so surprising, to those of us in the women’s martial arts movement who have been treated for years to their dynamic demonstrations, intense instruction and powerful community. Sifu Sonya, who won gold with Aarin in the all-genders two-person fighting set competition while also teaching and officiating, informed me: “I am thrilled that we were awarded twenty-eight medals amongst us, but more grateful that so many heads of schools and organizers spoke to me about how kind and supportive the students of Hand to Hand are. I am as proud of our ambassadorship as I (continued on page 11)

Jamie Leno Zimron Receives 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists San Francisco Bay Times columnist Jamie Leno Zimron Sensei, Aikido 6th Dan, has been named the 2018 recipient of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pacific Association of Women Martial Artists. The Association recognized “her outstanding art, teaching and pioneering efforts in utilizing The Art of Peace to build bridges between people in conflict, and to help shift to more harmonious ways of being, doing and relating in all aspects of society.”

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Aikido, developed by martial artist Morihei Ueshiba (1883– 1969), is composed of three Japanese words: “ai,” meaning harmony, “ki,” meaning spirit or energy, and “do,” the path, system or way. Aikido is effective as a martial art, but it also serves as a path for personal development and spiritual growth in harmony with others and nature.

Zimron is the founder of the Women’s Aikido School of SF, coinitiator of the Israel Women’s Martial Art Federation, co-initiator of Training Across Borders, codirector of the PeaceCamp Initiative and much more. To learn more about her and the recent honor, check out a YouTube video highlighting her achievements (https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=5SSlO8K3zA4).

am of their training to get to the Games, and their joy in their outcomes.”

First Degree Black Belt Zo Zotigh won 3 gold medals in Women’s Black Belt Musical Form, Women’s Black Belt Self-Defense and Women’s Black Belt Sparring. She recalled, “Even with all of my research, nothing could prepare me for Paris.

Stepping onto the mats at the Institut du Judo made everything electric. Over the next four days I competed in four different events ... and when I wasn’t competing, I was able to witness other people showcasing their hard work in styles that I had never seen before.

There were breathtaking forms and stunning displays of strength and power in self-defense and sparring. The comradery that all of the martial arts players showed one another throughout the Games was truly inspiring! The guidance and support from my teachers and fellow teammates helped me to bring home three Gold Medals, and lifelong friendships as well!”

Hannah Yui is an orange belt who won gold in Beginners Women’s Empty-Hand Forms, and gold in Beginners Women’s Sparring: “I had no idea what to expect when I signed on for the Gay Games, but I am really glad I did! This competition, and everything leading up to it, has been a really unique and powerful experience. It gave me the opportunity to train and grow in ways I never expected.

At the opening ceremonies, I was moved to see so many excited athletes from all over the world, including countries where it is still not ok to be gay. And while there was definitely an air of nerves and pressure during the competitions, we were all there to celebrate and support one another in our achievements as athletes. I think one of the things we all won is the Gay Games bringing us together and the new connections we built with each other.”

Brown belt Charlene Legac won gold in Advanced Women’s Self-Defense, and gold in Advanced Women’s Sparring: “Of course, I had the jitters, nervousness, heart jumping out of my chest, because I wanted to represent my school and teachers to the best of my ability. It was a challenge to channel the nervous energy in the moment of competition and not to cave under the pressure.

The feeling was different with each event. Something happened during sparring, maybe a minute into my first round, where I was able to feel my rhythm and movement, and to see things coming from my opponent in a way I hadn’t experienced in training.

I have an overwhelming feeling of gratitude, love and respect for all who participated in the Games, and

PHOTO COURTESY OF SONYA RICHARDSON

“ T h i s y e a r ’s Games hosted some 70% men and 30% women identified persons. Women may have been represented to an even smaller degree in the martial arts. I was honored and thrilled to serve a s a jud ge for sparring, center judge for self-defense panels and to give out medals at the Games. I am grateful to our martial arts directors for their stellar efforts to include me in leadership and for the amazing days of clinics, training and competition they organized. Inspiring! Incredible! Bravo! Brava! See you in Hong Kong 2022!”

Sifu Sonya and Aarin Burch

for all of the work that my teachers and training partners put towards preparing us. I’m humbled by the high level of skill that my competitors brought and am thankful that they helped to bring out the best performance I had to offer.”

Congratulations to my LPGA friend and colleague from San Diego, Christie Quinn, who took home gold in the golf competition. Her wife Karen Gutekunst was “on the bag” and by her side as caddy. I was really sorry not to be able to play golf together with them in Paris, but Christie’s got me fired up for next time: “Playing in The Gay Games was fun, colorful, exciting, full of joy— a bit like a sports-themed version of Pride ... and it felt like the Summer Olympics! Being around so many athletes was very energizing, and there was a huge sense of community. Country pride was evident in uniforms and celebrations, and everyone was extremely supportive of their fellow competitors, teammates and friends.

In golf we had 180 players—80 women and 100 men—with over 20 countries represented and handicaps from scratch to 20+. Flights were based on skill level and net score was awarded too. We played two different courses set in the woods and hills of the Versailles countryside. Both were narrow and heavily tree-lined. One course required precise shot-making due to some extreme dogleg holes, while the other course required power due to steep hills. The clubhouse was a charming old horse racing stable, and you walked through the forest like Hansel and Gretel!

Participating in a global event like this reminds us how small the world really is. We felt like a big family.

The theme of Paris 2018 was All Equal and each of us felt loved, appreciated and respected. These athletes are serious, prepared and ready to play! Playing golf for your country’s colors was a whole level above what I have played for before and it’s an experience I will never forget!”

It was actually a French educator, Pierre de Coubertin, who conceived of the modern Olympic Games in 1889. The first “Congress” was convened five years later at the Sorbonne in Paris. It would eventually grow into the International Olympic Committee (today’s IOC). From the outset, the Olympics were designed as an international festival intended to utilize sport’s capacity to develop character, promote understanding across cultures, bring political enemies together as fellow competitors and friends, (continued on page 26) S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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Don’t Let the New Tax Laws End Your Generosity “Bunching” Donations

Money Matters Brandon Miller If you’re an itemizer, the new tax laws that are kicking in this year may be good news or not, depending on your situation. One of the biggest changes is that the standard deduction has now doubled to $24,000 for married couples and $12,000 for individual filers. Many people who used to benefit from itemization can now return to a simpler form.

A less stressful April 15 sounds great—unless you run a charity. The new law could really hurt organizations that depend on the kindness of strangers (or, at least, donors).

That’s because the only way to get a tax benefit from charitable contributions is to itemize your taxes. So, one unintended consequence of the new law is that charitable giving may drop because many people are no longer itemizing.

But you don’t have to let these tax changes curb your generosity. There are ways to continue donating to your favorite Good Deed Doers and still get a tax break for it. You just have to handle things a little differently.

In fact, there are three strategies that you can use, ranging from extremely simple to so expensive it might be a moot point because you’re likely someone who will continue to itemize. But let’s talk about all three anyhow.

The easiest way to have your cake and give it away too is to use a strategy called bunching. This is pretty much what it sounds like. You take the amount you plan to contribute over several years and donate it all in a single tax year. As long as the amount is over the standard deduction threshold, you can itemize your taxes the year you make the “bunched” contribution and get a tax break for your donations. And in the other years, you simply take the standard deduction.

Say, for example, that you give $600 a month to the SPCA, which adds up to a $7,200 contribution every year.

If you bunch four years worth of donations in a single year, that would be $28,800, which is over the threshold for married filers. And if you’re that generous and a single filer, you only have to bunch two years of donations together.

Of course, there are drawbacks to this strategy for you and your charity. You have to come up with a significant amount of money in a shorter period of time. And the charity gets a bonanza one year, then nothing in the years between your bunched payments.

Donor-Advised Funds If you don’t want your charities to have to deal with the all-or-nothing contribution tactic, a donor-advised fund provides a fairly simple way to even out your donations.

These funds work just like bunching in that they let you donate your money in a single year and reap the tax benefits that year. What’s different is that the fund pays your donation amount to your charities over time, not all at once. The charity can get an equal payment from you via the fund each year, even in the years where you’re not itemizing.

Donor-advised funds are also a great way to gift highly appreciated assets, such as Apple stock that you bought back in 1980. Just remember that

once donated, you can’t get your assets or money back. But you can direct the fund’s administrator to give the amount you specify to the charity you choose.

And some funds allow for your donations to be invested, which could potentially increase the amount of your contribution. Just make sure that any administrative or investment fees don’t cost more than your potential gains.

Private Foundations The third strategy for continuing to get tax breaks from your charitable giving is certainly not for everyone, since it can cost upwards of $10,000 just to establish. But for certain people, such as those you see listed before a PBS program, a private foundation is a good option.

You can still bunch your contributions to the foundation in one year and benefit from the tax deduction in that year. But you have total say over the actions your foundation takes, including which charities get your money, how much and when.

With any of these strategies, you’ll have to figure out how bunching contributions will impact your cash flow.

It may make sense to contact a financial professional for some help with this.

If you f ind that bunching doesn’t work for you, you can still continue to make your charitable contributions— you just won’t get the tax break. Or you can continue to donate the same amount, take the tax hit and consider that an increase in your gift.

And if all else fails and you decide that you can’t contribute anything, just try to be kind and considerate to others. That helps too.

Brandon Miller, CFP® is a financial consultant at Brio Financial Group in San Francisco, specializing in helping LGBT individuals and families plan and achieve their financial goals.

Two Versions of Sport is met with an all-business interior, with grippy seats holding you in a cavern that feels dark as night. If you can’t imagine what it feels like to be a gangster, then a few minutes peering through the squinty windshield over the murmuring hood will start you on your way.

Auto Philip Ruth Sport can mean a lot of things. This week’s high-roofed duo approach the subject from almost opposite points in the performance spectrum. Do they succeed?

That depends on your definition of success. Both the Dodge Durango R/T and Ford EcoSport Titanium evoke images of fun times. The tested R/T turned heads with its blackout graphics and sultry exhaust rumble. Its presence conveys seriousness of purpose.

The Ford has Sport in its name, so it promises some verve. Parked at the curb, the EcoSport appears as a pre-pubescent version of the familiar Ford Escape. The EcoSport is robotic-cute; it eschews the googly-eyes adorability of a Mini Cooper while still looking light enough on its tires to host a youthful spark.

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The EcoSport contrasts with the feel of a glassy pogo stick. You sit high and enjoy big views up front, though the rear has the usual crossover-SUV blind spots. The narrow EcoSport has ample interior width, though I did find my knees and elbows clunking against stiff plastics.

Over the road, the Durango R/T feels like an old friend. After a decade of driving just about every application of Chrysler’s delicious Hemi 5.7-liter V8, I feel that each one has provided the deep satisfaction that eight-cylinder torque can bring. That means rocket-like takeoffs and effortless passing, along with the conf idence that comes from knowing you’re just about the quickest car on the road around you, as long as there aren’t any pesky Teslas arrowing up the side.

Prof ligate pleasure usually has a price, and the gas pump stands ready to exact it after a strong run in a Hemi-packing Durango R/T. I’m sure that the cylinder deactivation Chrysler touts as helping the Hemi sip gas works in some conditions, but it rarely has time to shine on San Francisco’s hills. Expect 10 mpg and be happily surprised if you hit 13 mpg.

Dodge Durango R/T

Ford EcoSport Titanium

Double that mileage at least for the 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder EcoSport, and there’s decent initial squirt. But the EcoSport quickly runs out of steam, and the engine sounds labored. When merging the tester onto Portola Avenue toward Market, I had it floored. As the EcoSport gathered speed and crested the hill, the engine’s wail activated the two motorcycle police who had just finished issuing a citation. They gave the EcoSport a hard stare and then relaxed, as if they both said, “Eh, that one is just trying to keep up.”

The aggressive Durango R/T would likely have provoked a different reaction, one ending with an insurance point or two. In this case, the truck named Sport is not the one that embodies it.

Philip Ruth is a Castro-based automotive photojournalist and consultant (www.gaycarguy.com). Check out his automotive staging service at www.carstaging.com

FALL arts PREVIEW Cris Williamson, Barbara Higbie, Teresa Trull

Matthew Morrison

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LGBTQ News & Calendar for the Bay Area CELEBRATING FOUR DECADES (1978–2018)

Linda Tillery

Phantom of the Opera

The Stylistics Smuin Ballet Sam Smith Dianne Reeves Mavis Staples

Neil Patrick Harris

LATE AUGUST–SEPTEMBER AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

Can You Dig It? - The 60s Through September 9 The Marsh Arts Center 2120 Allston Way Berkeley

Sam Smith: The Thrill of It All Tour September 4 Oracle Arena 7000 Coliseum Way Oakland

Written, performed, produced and directed by Don Reed, this show rewinds to the 60s, going back to Reed’s formative “Stand by Me” years in an Oakland grammar school when his family was “whole.” (He shares that his father later became a pimp before his mother reluctantly became a Jehovah’s Witness.) Along the journey many wonderful, scary, amazing, unnecessary, cool, moving, unbelievably true stories unfolded. From the Beatles to the Black panthers, James Brown to the Jerk, MLK to JFK to KKK—come and see the 60s through the blinking eyes of an awkward kid who was just trying to fit in. https://themarsh.org/can_you_dig_it/don-reedberkeley-2/

Born in Cambridgeshire, England, Smith studied vocals and songwriting in his teens under the mentorship of jazz vocalist Joanna Eden. His big break came at just 20, when he got the opportunity to collaborate with rising British electronic duo Disclosure on their breakout 2012 single “Latch,” a Top 10 U.K. hit and ubiquitous presence at clubs around the world.

Smith’s vocal range and depth of tone have brought acclaim to this out and proud artist’s chart-topping singles and solo albums. Smith will be joined at Oracle Arena by special guest Beth Ditto. https://samsmithworld.com/live/

The Homobiles August 26 Elbo Room Jack London 311 Broadway Oakland The queer party punk supergroup Homobiles sings songs about cars and babes, crimes and change, bathhouses and ballot measures. The band features Lynn Breedlove, who is the founder of the nonprofit LGBTIQQ ride service Homobiles (http://www.homobiles.org/). Messy Lover and Side Pony will also perform. https://www.facebook.com/events/222157085149481/

Based on the songs of ABBA, the play was first produced in 1999 at London’s West End, while its U.S. debut was staged in San Francisco in 2000. Subsequently, it has enjoyed multi-year runs on Broadway and internationally.

The synopsis has been characterized as: “A mother. A daughter. Three possible dads. And a trip down the aisle you’ll never forget.” http://www.lesherartscenter.showare.com

QUEER POP QUIZ

This production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic will feature new staging, scenic design, costume design, lighting design and choreography. Critics are calling it bigger and better than ever with a cast and orchestra of 52, one of the largest productions ever of Phantom. The production also includes new special effects and updates of the favorites, including the legendary chandelier. http://www.shnsf.com A Doll’s House - Part ll September 6–October 21 Berkeley Rep - Roda Theatre 2015 Addison Street Berkeley

Mamma Mia! August 31–October 7 Lesher Center for the Arts 1601 Civic Drive Walnut Creek

KIT’N KITTY’S

The Phantom of the Opera September 5–30 HN Orpheum Theatre 1192 Market Street San Francisco

Picking up where Ibsen’s classic A Doll’s House leaves off, Nora is back after 15 years. After leaving her husband, children and the nursemaid, she became a successful feminist novelist. Now she needs to finalize a divorce and needs her hopefully soonto-be ex-husband’s help. As an examination of rules of society and gender, the Tony Award-nominated play by Lucas Hnath premiered in 2016 at the South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California, before going to Broadway in 2017. http://www.berkeleyrep.org

Anita Baker Farewell Concert Series September 7–8 Paramount Theatre 2025 Broadway Oakland Starting her career with the funk band Chapter 8, Anita Baker released her first solo album, The Songstress, in 1983. In 1986, she rose to stardom following the release of her platinum-selling second album, Rapture, which included the Grammy-winning single “Sweet Love.”

She is acclaimed as one of the most popular vocalists of soulful romantic ballads, and played an integral part in helping to launch the “quiet storm” radio format of contemporary R&B. Her career spans over 3 decades and includes 8 Grammy awards, 4 American Music awards, 7 Soul Train awards, a B.E.T. Lifetime Achievement Award, 7 platinum albums and 6 world tours. http://www.paramounttheatre.com Voices from the Edge September 7–22 Theatre Rhinoceros at The Gateway Theatre The Gateway Theatre 215 Jackson Street San Francisco This new work by Rhodessa Jones explores issues facing women of color who are incarcerated and/or living with HIV. The show is a world premiere commission developed by Theatre Rhinoceros and Cultural Odyssey/ The Medea Project. http://therhino.org/season-2018-19/ Roberto Devereux September 8–27 San Francisco Opera, War Memorial Opera House 301 Van Ness Avenue San Francisco Anglophiles, Tudor era fans and lovers of Queen Elizabeth I will not want to miss this production of the tragic opera by Gaetano Donizetti with libretto by Salvadore Cammarano. First performed in Naples, Italy, in October of 1837, the play was popularized in the U.S. during the 20th Century with performances starring Plácido Domingo and Beverly Sills at the New York City Opera. The cast for San Francisco Opera’s production features LGBT community members Russell Thomas as Devereux and Jamie Barton as Sara. (See the interview with Barton in this issue.) https://sfopera.com/1819season/devereux/

STRONG WEEKS What is the name of the play, and later HBO film, which focuses on a writer and gay activist named Ned Weeks, who’s trying to nurse his partner back to health from a then-unknown disease?

A) The Band Played On B) Angels in America C) The Boys in the Band D) The Normal Heart ANSWER ON PAGE 26

Karin Jaffie, aka Kit/Kitty Tapata, won the title of Mr. Gay San Francisco in 2011 and has earned many other honors since. Connect with Jaffie via Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pg/ktapata

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San Francisco Opera

to Present Eight New Productions During 2018–19 Season

PHOTO CREDIT: TODD ROSENBERG

PHOTO CREDIT: RICHARD CAMPBELL

PHOTO CREDIT: CATHERINE ASHMORE

PHOTO CREDIT: KAREN ALMOND

PHOTO CREDIT: MICHAL DANIEL

PHOTO CREDIT: ROBBIE JACK

PHOTO CREDIT: MICHAEL COOPER

PHOTO CREDIT: JACQUES CROISIER

San Francisco Opera’s 2018–19 Season will begin on Friday, September 7, with a gala double-bill performance seething with raw passion, jealousy and heartbreak that can only result from a scandalous “secret love” small-town affair. Perhaps this sounds like a moment from your own past love life? In this case, it is from Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci in a lavish José Cura production. This gripping double feature is just one of eight new productions that will be featured on the magnificent War Memorial Opera House Stage in the coming months.

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If you love opera, then we are preaching to the chorus. If you have not been in a while—or at all—take time to learn more about this emotionally direct and timeless international art form that crosses cultural boundaries. So many of us spend ample time in front of the tube, which inherently lacks the tangible power of opera that can affect all of our senses and in a shared communal space that heightens the senses all the more.

Balcony seats are often an incredible bargain—a fraction of the cost of most pop/R&B star concert balcony seats. Rush tickets are also frequently available for qualifying individuals (for more info: https:// sfopera.com/buy-tickets/rush-tickets/) and subscribers secure seats at a savings of 40%.

We are grateful to have one of the world’s leading opera companies right here in San Francisco. Enrich your life by adding these performances to your own entertainment calendar:

Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci September 7–September 30 https://sfopera.com/1819season/cavpag/ Roberto Devereux September 8–27 https://sfopera.com/1819season/devereux/ Tosca October 3–30 https://sfopera.com/1819season/tosca/ Arabella October 16–November 3 https://sfopera.com/1819season/arabella/ It’s a Wonderful Life November 17–December 9 https://sfopera.com/1819season/wonderful/ Carmen June 5–29, 2019 https://sfopera.com/1819season/carmen/ Orlando June 9–27, 2019 https://sfopera.com/1819season/orlando/ Rusalka June 16–28, 2019 https://sfopera.com/1819season/rusalka/ Each production promises not only excellent artistry with some of the world’s most talented singers, but also diverse and profound emotional experiences that only opera can provide. For just a taste of what’s to come, attend the always free and always fabulous Opera in the Park, presented by our friends at the San Francisco Chronicle. This year it will be at Robin Williams Meadow, Golden Gate Park, on Sunday, September 9, starting at 1:30 pm.

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Acclaimed Mezzo Ja

Talks About Opera, the Castro Recordings of mezzo soprano Jamie Barton have been playing in our San Francisco Bay Times offices of late, as we are mesmerized by this supremely talented and justifiably acclaimed singer. She is the winner of the 2017 Beverly Sills Artist Award and 2015 Richard Tucker Award, the winner of both Main and Song Prizes at the 2013 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, the winner of the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and a Grammy nominee. Barton also won our hearts last year—major swoon—when she came out as bisexual via her professional Twitter account on National Coming Out Day.

has a remarka amid pauses f breath, and th ing the ear into broken.”

Born in Rome, Georgia, Barton has done everything from singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” for the 2017 Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks to being featured in The New York Times as “Opera’s Nose-Studded Rock Star.”

The New Yorker music critic Alex Ross, for his great blog The Rest Is Noise (http://www.therestisnoise.com/), wrote: “She is a fresh wonder of the opera world, possessing a voice of preternatural beauty and power. She

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PHOTO CREDIT: KEN HOWARD

PHOTO CREDIT: FAY FOX

amie Barton

o and Teaching Leatherwork to Boy Scouts

sco Bay Times: What do you most the city, and what are you looking doing here, outside of your perforrelated work?

on: I love the spirit of this city so much!

I’m from Georgia, I’ve always felt like a rl in many regards. San Francisco has a lot of what I hold dear to my heart: a fierce liberal and queer streak, surrounded by stunning landscapes, and chock-full of some of the best restaurants in the world! I love spending time in the different neighborhoods—I lived in the Castro during the Ring Cycle (and Pride month) this summer, which was an amazing experience, and now I’m living in Haight Ashbury. As a 90s kid who was raised by two hippies, I adore it!

PHOTO CREDIT: DARIO ACOSTA

S a n Fr a n c i s c o B ay Times: How do you physically and mentally prepare to perform the role of Sara and the wide range of emotions that it requires?

Ja m ie Ba r ton: Wel l, being a mezzo, I get the treat of doing these sorts of characters a lot! I love playing a conflicted, complicated character—I feel like they are often so much closer to reality than the heroic tenors or the angelic sopranos. My method of tapping into the character

San Francisco Bay Times: What are some of your favorite moments of Roberto Devereux?

Jamie Barton: I think the duet with Nottingham is perhaps my favorite part that my character sings, but the best moment of the entire show is the mad scene for Queen Elizabeth. It’s absolutely stunning—heartbreaking, enthralling and an absolute bear to sing. To hear it done so well is such a treat!

San Francisco Bay Times: Who are some of your own favorite singers, both past and present?

Jamie Barton: I do have a LOT of musical loves!

The ones who spring to mind right now are Stephanie Blythe, Sir John Tomlinson, Jessye Norman, Robert Plant, Billie Holiday, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga.

San Francisco Bay Times: Have there ever been times when an unexpected occurrence on stage required a sudden change of plan?

Jamie Barton: Oh yes ... it is live theater, after all! Early in my career, I made my Metropolitan Opera debut as 2nd Lady in The Magic Flute. In that production, when the Three Ladies introduced the Queen of the Night before her first aria, the stage was supposed to spin to take us offstage and dramatically reveal the Queen. On the opening night of our run, the stage started to spin and then stopped. Abruptly. My colleagues and I were stuck onstage, and the poor Queen had to make her Met debut singing the first third of the aria from the wings! They did eventually get the stage rotating again and she made it onstage for the most important part of the aria, but it was definitely one of those times when you’re just kind of stuck, waiting for the theater gods to smile down and get the show back on the rails!

San Francisco Bay Times: What do you think are the most effective ways to interest younger generations in opera?

Jamie Barton: Honestly, I think the most effective way of getting younger audiences into the opera house is to make experiences available that audiences simply cannot have on their couch with Netflix. I think it’s vitally important to champion new works with good composers, because that’s how we get our current stories told. If the stories being shared on stage are done well—

whether they’re entirely new works or compelling stagings of classics—I truly think that opera has all of the elements to become an addictive experience for people who love great stories and incredible music.

San Francisco Bay Times: In addition to Roberto Devereux, we look forward to seeing Rusalka.

Please tell us about your character Ježibaba.

Jamie Barton: I really do love to play a witch! Ježibaba is such an interesting character—she’s half human, half magic and feared by all who know of her power. She is the one who decides the consequences that Rusalka must suffer, and I’ve always found her to be a bit scary! I also love that her exit from the storyline of Rusalka is quite blasé.

She doesn’t have an extended moment of trying to teach Rusalka a storybook moral. Rather, she just keeps on going along her normal path, chiding Rusalka for her naïveté and trying to eat the kitchen boy. It seems obvious to me that she just keeps going, even after Rusalka’s story ends.

PHOTO CREDIT: MICHAEL COOPER

agree more, and love that Barton is bookancisco Opera’s 2018–19 season: first with ara” in Roberto Devereux and then with the witch “Ježibaba” in Rusalka. She enjoys o and playing witches, just a few of many s she made during a recent interview with

I’m portraying is to try and connect their emotions to experiences I’ve had that have given me similar feelings. (Or, if I have no personal experience with which to forge a connection, I try and empathize to the best of my ability.) That way, by the time the performances come around and I have had weeks in a rehearsal room to get comfortable with the character I’m singing, I can really champion her story. During performances, I just focus on having the most organic reactions I can, and on being a receptive stage partner to the people with whom I am co-creating this story.

Sondra Radvanovksy as Elizabeth I in the Canadian Opera’s production of Roberto Devereux.

San Francisco Bay Times: Back to real life: Did you really teach woodcarving, leatherwork and metalwork to Boy Scouts, as your bio indicates?

Jamie Barton: I sure did, for 3 years!

I helped out at the arts and crafts cabin at Camp Sydney Dew during the summer while my Mom was the ropes course instructor for the camp. “Helping out” moved quickly from organizing supplies to teaching. The man in charge (whose lovely name was “Mr. Ed”) must have really trusted me—I was between the ages of 11 and 14!

San Francisco Bay Times: Is River (Barton’s beloved cat) coming to San Francisco with you?

Jamie Barton: She is! River is also requiring that I keep audiences abreast of her San Francisco trip. Feel free to follow along on Instagram at @jbartonmezzo!

PHOTO COURTESY OF SAN FRANCISCO OPERA

able ability to keep the vocal line af loat for breath; she’d swell on a note, take a hen resume at even greater volume, tricko thinking that the phrase had never been

Tenor Russell Thomas will play the role of Devereux in the upcoming production of Roberto Devereux.

San Francisco Bay Times: Please mention anything else that you would like for our readers to know.

Jamie Barton: I think you San Franciscans are simply the best. Thanks for the warm welcome!

For more about this truly incredible artist, visit: http:// www.jamiebartonmezzo.com/

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FALL arts PREVIEW

(continued)

Linda Tillery’s 70th Birthday Extravaganza: The Blues and More September 8 and 9 Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse 2020 Addison Street Berkeley LGBT community favorite Linda Tillery will host two nights of celebration at The Freight with special guests including the Cultural Heritage Choir, Venezuelan Music Project and more. Emcees will be comedian and actress Diane Amos (September 7) and Medea Project’s Rhodessa Jones (September 8). Tillery was an Olivia Records artist and producer, a founding member of Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra and is a Bay Area legend known for her exploration into the roots of the African American music experience. https://www.thefreight.org/event/1717481-linda-tillerys-70th-birthdayberkeley/ The Stylistics September 10 Yoshi’s Oakland 510 Embarcadero West Oakland The legendary group formed in Philadelphia in 1966 will bring its current show to Oakland at Yoshi’s. Their first album, The Stylistics, spawned six singles, including “Betcha By Golly Wow.” Original members Herb and Airrion have continued their work with the group over the decades. https://www.yoshis.com/event/1680202-stylistics-oakland/ Freight & Salvage 50th Anniversary with Mavis Staples September 12 Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse 2020 Addison Street Berkeley Legendary musician, Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame member and civil rights activist Mavis Staples is a multiple Grammy winner and was named one of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Options include a preconcert light dinner, post-show dessert and wine reception, and preferred seating. Staples will be joined by award-winning DJ Harry Duncan, producer of The Soul Kitchen weekly radio show and who has performed with many noted artists. https://www.thefreight.org/event/1690862-freight-salvage-50thberkeley/ Dianne Reeves September 21 Monterey Jazz Festival - Arena/Jimmy Lyons Stage 2004 Fairground Road Monterey At the 2018 Monterey Jazz Festival, five-time Grammy winning artist Dianne Reeves will perform as a Showcase Artist and will receive the Festival’s Legend Award. During her storied career, she has performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic and was the first singer ever to perform at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. She has performed at The White House and received honorary doctorates from the Berklee College of Music and the Julliard School.

This year, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Reeves with a Jazz Masters Fellowship Award, the highest honor our nation bestows on jazz artists. http://www.montereyjazzfestival.org/artists/dianne-reeves-0 6th Annual Musical Extravaganza to benefit Charlotte Maxwell Clinic September 23 Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse 2020 Addison Street Berkeley Supporting the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic Integrative Cancer Care, the concert will feature Amikaeyla Gastron with Elizabeth Sayre, Michele Goerlitz and Mena Ramos, Also, direct from her New York City performances, singer/percussionist Marcelle Davis Lashley will appear with LGBT community favorites Shelly Doty, Vicki Randle, Kofy Brown and Julie Wolf. Emcee for the evening will be Melanie Berzon of KCSM Radio. http://www.thefreight.org Cris Williamson, Barbara Higbie, Teresa Trull: The Reunion Tour September 26 Kuumbwa Jazz Center 320-2 Cedar Street #2 Santa Cruz Back momentarily from New Zealand where she now makes her home, Teresa Trull will join the Bay Area’s Barbara Higbie and Seattleite Cris Williamson for a memorable evening of music. This trio of friends composed of gutsy blues/rock vocal dynamo and songwriter Trull, Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist and singer Higbie and the iconic singer/songwriter Williamson will bring a mixture of new material and old favorites to one of their favorite cities, Santa Cruz. Without a doubt, the very real friendship binding these three musicians will bring a powerful mixture guaranteed to delight, inspire, cheer and comfort. https://www.criswilliamson.com

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FALL arts PREVIEW Mark Morris Dance Group - Pepperland, Sgt. Pepper at 50 September 28–30 Cal Performances Zellerbach Hall Berkeley Mark Morris celebrates the 50th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band with an exuberant new dance work that revels in the eccentric charm and joyful optimism of The Beatles’ groundbreaking album. The production, a smash hit with audiences at its Liverpool premiere last season, features a score by longtime Morris collaborator Ethan Iverson, who leads a unique chamber ensemble through arrangements of iconic songs from the record mixed with imaginative original compositions. http://calperformances.org/2018-19-season/ Neil Patrick Harris September 28 Jewish Community Center of San Francisco Arts & Ideas Kanbar Hall 3200 California Street San Francisco Tony and Emmy award-winning stage and screen performer Neil Patrick Harris will present the Marcia and John Goldman Lecture: The Magic Misfits: the Second Story. The event celebrates his second book and each ticket includes a pre-signed copy and one raffle ticket entry into a drawing for a VIP meet-and-greet with the author following the event. https://www.jccsf.org/arts-ideas/upcoming-events/ Smuin Ballet - Dance Series 01 September 28–October 6 Palace of Fine Arts 3301 Lyon Street San Francisco Smuin Ballet launched its 25th Anniversary earlier this year with the Dance Series 01 program that includes Trey McIntyre’s “Blue Until June,” a sultry dance set to the heart-wrenching vocals of Etta James; and Michael Smuin’s “The Eternal Idol” and his timeless “Schubert Scherzo,” an effervescent dance set to Schubert’s sprightly C-Major Symphony. The program also continues the company’s dedication to fostering new talent, showcasing “Merely Players” by Nicole Haskins, “Reflection” by Ben Needham-Wood, and “Sinfonietta” by Rex Wheeler. http://www.smuinballet.org/2018-19-season/dance-series-01/ Jay-Z and Beyoncé September 29 Levi’s Stadium 4900 Marie P DeBartolo Way Santa Clara Jay-Z and Beyoncé have partnered on stage again for the OTR II stadium tour, which began in the U.K. in June. This dynamic duo performed together during the On the Run tour of 2014, which sold out stadiums across North America and led to an Emmy-nominated HBO special. OTR II has been receiving rave reviews. As Rolling Stone’s Mark Sutherland wrote, “Pop’s number-one power couple reaffirmed their dominance, and the strength of their bond, at a hits-packed, visually stunning show.” http://www.levisstadium.com/2018/03/jay-z-and-beyonce-bring-otr-iitour-to-levis-stadium/ Matthew Morrison September 30 Bay Area Cabaret, Venetian Room, Fairmont 950 Mason Street San Francisco Opening night for Bay Area Cabaret’s 15th Anniversary Season will feature Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe award nominee Matthew Morrison (Glee, Hairspray, South Pacific, Finding Neverland) in his San Francisco solo concert debut. Join founding executive producer Marilyn Levinson at the company’s Sunday performances in the historic Venetian Room where legends such as Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Marlene Dietrich and more appeared. http://www.bayareacabaret.org/artist-morrison.html Yo-Yo Ma - The Complete Bach Suites September 30 Cal Performances - Greek Theatre 2001 Gayley Road Berkeley Acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma will return to the majestic Greek Theatre for this special performance of Bach’s cello suites. Ma will play all six of them for solo cello. Writing in The New Yorker in December, Alex Ross described Ma’s performance of the suites at the Hollywood Bowl as: “The loveliest experience of my listening year ... it was as if music had stilled the world.” http://calperformances.org/performances/2018-19/special-events/yoyo-ma-cello-the-complete-bach-suites.php

Look for Part II of our Fall Arts Preview in September.

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Sister Dana Sez: Words of Wisdumb from a Fun Nun

By Sister Dana Van Iquity Sister Dana sez, “Trump lawyer ‘Rude Ghouliani’ keeps warning the presi-dense of a possible ‘perjury trap’ in the Mueller investigation. But how could Trump fall into a trap unless he lies and thus perjures himself?

Oh wait, I know: Trump ONLY tells lies!”

ALL THE T ABOUT THAT D: “Drag Queens Talk Trade” was a lively forum at STRUT, the 470 Castro hub for queer health and well-being, on August 10, second floor. Although drag queens are celebrated as ambassadors and mascots of the gay community, it gets a little more complicated when it comes time to hook up.

We joined in for a fun and interactive talk show event featuring local drag queens in conversation about their sexual exploits and experiences on hookup apps. Strut Community Organizer Baruch Porras-Hernandez welcomed everyone. Featured were Rock M. Sakura, Tamale Ringwald, and U-Phoria (Peter Griggs)—all three out of drag as men beneath the makeup and butt pads.

Our hostess and emcee was the fabulous LOL McFiercen (Kevin Seaman) in full drag and makeup. And she isn’t called “LOL” for nothin’, cuz she is one fierce Laugh Out Loud drag queen! She posed intimate questions on a video screen for the panel of three to candidly (and hilariously) respond. Also, the audience was encouraged to share. Everyone had a great time learning and laughing. Hopefully this will become a regular event offered at Strut in the future. https://www.strutsf.org THE PUPPET OF LOVE SHOW is now on display at SPARK ARTS in the Castro at 4229 18th Street through August 26. It features works that clever creator Wolfram Alderson describes as “illuminated sculpture-paintings.” The pieces average six feet high and five feet wide, and are multidimensional with complex elements on multiple planes— all lighted with incandescent and red LED light. The entire room is darkened (giving a magical mysterious effect) and lit only by mostly red lights and a little white light on a stacked column of boxes. All three walls display various images of “alien planet” love and the heart. For these alien creatures, the heart is much more important than the brain. For instance, on one wall, huge cement cubes spell out in block letters in German: “We are here to learn and love,” presumably from visiting aliens. Almost all of the art contains images of the human heart. Several years in to writing “Pupazzo Universo,” a science fiction epic, Wolfram has developed a series of illuminated sculptures based on characters and themes in the work, scheduled to be published this year in a children’s sci fi book. The work featured in the show is looking forward into time and imagining a future where love is the most powerful force in the universe, and what that might look like. All of the pieces in the show are essentially “Puppets of Love.” I had to giggle at the thought of Trump’s absurd “Space Force” one day trying to attack friendly, loving space aliens. http://wolframalderson. com/love-icon-show Sister Dana sez, “For the first time ever, the Trump-led Federal Government will charge protesters for demonstrating in the 18

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MAX is a social community for gay men and their friends. It stands for three things: Men, Activities and Xtra value. The goal is to work together as a group to provide gay men in the San Francisco Bay Area with a large roster of social events that offer the greatest value possible for a fair cost. They work as a team to create their own original programming, plus work in concert with other organizations to promote their events in order to provide as many social options as possible to members.

MAX (originally known as Men’s Associated Exchange) was established in 1988 in response to the AIDS crisis. Out of fear, many gay men had stopped going out; MAX’s purpose was to create a “safe space” for gay men to socialize. Within a short time, it had grown to over 1,000 duespaying members who participated in dozens of activities each year.

After an eight-year hiatus, MAX was revived in 2016. I attended MAX’s SECOND SUNDAY gathering on August 12 to meet all kinds of cool gay guys at Finn Town Tavern.

The next MAX event was joining their partner organization, REAF, the RICHMOND/ERMET AID FOUNDATION, for their premier fundraising event of the year, filled with music, good food, a silent auction, and plenty of fun.

Join them on Friday, September 7, from 6 to 8:30 pm for their monthly signature event, TGIF, at the Hyatt Embarcadero Eclipse Bar (5 Embarcadero Center, Atrium Lobby Level). https://maxsf.org/event2813217?CalendarViewType=1&Selec tedDate=8/22/2018 I was quite fortunate to get invited to the very last days of the venerable five decades-long gay men’s theater, NOB HILL THEATRE, on Friday, August 17. NAKEDSWORD STUDIO was filming a 4 scene DVD about “The Last Days of Nob Hill Theatre.”

CEO Tim Valenti, Sister Roma, the incredible mr. Pam, and her hunky and talented right-hand Leo Forte, along with many others from the studio, were filming the last Epic Scene. It was a bittersweet night, but a grand way to say goodbye and salute the old girl.

Sister Dana sez, “Congratz to Christine Hallquist, a Democrat from Vermont, who became the first transgender candidate to be nominated for a governorship by a major party!”

imprisonment, just for being their true identity selves; if not from their own homeland/government, but also amongst their own blood family members.

THE RICHMOND/ERMET AID FOUNDATION (REAF) presented HELP IS ON THE WAY 24 Concert and Gala Celebrating Music, Legends & Icons, Northern CA’s largest annual, star-studded show produced

by REAF directors Ken Henderson & Joe Seiler. It was a festive benefit for MEALS ON WHEELS SAN FRANCISCO and AIDS LEGAL REFERRAL PANEL on Sunday, August 19, at the Herbst Theatre.

Stellar stars who performed were Leanne Borghesi (singing a gritty “No Man Is Worth It”), Eileen Bourgade (on violin with “Concerto No. 2 in D Minor”), Debby Boone (with the really romantic “Moon River”), the veteran Broadway Baby Carole Cook (who is also a hysterical standup comic: recalling the good old days “oh, to be ninety again” !!! but also belting out “Before the Parade Passes By” resulting in a glorious standing ovation), Davis Gaines (changing “If Ever You Would Leave Me” from Camelot into the purposely egotistical “If Ever I Would Leave You,” and tossing out B&W headshots to the crowd (earlier he was much more serious with the emotional “This Is the Moment” from Jekyll & Hyde), Debby Holiday (giving The Beatles a run for their money with her sexy version of “Help”), Eric Krop, (showing off his amazing range to do “To Love You More”), Kimberley Locke (opening the show along with Holiday to disco an inferno of “Last Dance” and “It’s Raining Men” complete with umbrellas, and later Locke blessing us with the Queer National Anthem, “Over the Rainbow” and “For Good” from Wicked), Jai Rodriguez (serving as an excellent emcee and also singing “So Close” from Disney’s Enchanted). Alas, Paula West was ill and could not be there to sing her fabulous jazz routines that night, but Top Shelf Classics took us down to Motown with a marvelous medley.

Mary Wilson of The Supremes sang the number based on The Supremes in Dreamgirls, the show-stopping “I Am Changing.” And for the grand finale, the entire cast bathed in our applause and standing ovations by singing the official “Help Is on the Way” theme song. What an incredible night!

Sister Dana sez, “Here are some august August events you should Autumn-atically write onto your calendars! Sorry not sorry for the puns.”

On 8/18/18 at The Edge 4–7 pm it was “BACK TO SCHOOL” time with our favorite school teacher Diana Wheeler co-hosting with Krewe GAY ASIAN PACIFIC ALLIANCE (GAPA) seeks to further the de Kinque King Garaje Gooch interests of LGBTQ Asian & Pacifand Krewe de Kinque Queen Miss ic Islanders. Celebrate 30 years of Chief the KREWE DE KINQUE GAPA RUNWAY in style at the VIP monthly benefit. Some “students” got Reception. Mingle with special VIPs, SPANKED for charity by Phys Ed GAPA’s Royal Court, and local celebTeacher Prince Joe Wolfe. Some rity guests. Enjoy free drinks + hors earned a STAR on their foreheads. It d›oeuvres, take photos, and kick back was summer fun with the $10 Beer/ in the exclusive lounge. Doors open Soda bust (Sister Dana was school from 5:30 pm to a glorious runway nurse offering “medicinal” light beer.

DJ Jack Rojo spun tunes during reshow starting at 7 pm on August 25, cess. Lunchtime Jell-O Shots were by and again during intermission at the Bill Hendrix. Entertainment was beautiful Herbst Theatre Performer’s by a diverse group of kings, queens, Lounge. Get your tickets and info at imperials, and ducals, including Cahttp://gapavip2018.eventbrite.com dillac Barbie (Gary Brackett), (continued on page 26) Aja Monet-Ashton, Kippy Marks, Miss Chief, Leandro Gonzales, and John Weber giving a live, moving tribute to the late great Aretha Franklin.

The beneficiary for our annual MARDI GRAS BAL MASQUE was proudly announced to be THE LGBT ASYLUM PROJECT, because in these times, it is CRITICAL we do all that we can to assist our LGBT family members from around the world who are facing threats and persecution upon Sister Dana enjoyed the Krewe De Kinque benefit at the Edge their life or bodily harm or bar on August 18 with friends Lyle Beckman and Diana Wheeler.

PHOTO BY RINK

Nation’s Capital. Truck Fump, you nasty orange autocrat!”

We the Animals: A Messy, Heartbreaking and Fantastic Film three. He crawls under their shared bed at night to secretly draw images that become animated from time to time (courtesy of Mark Samsonovich).

He loves his mother, and is enamored with his father, but his parents do not always get along.

Film Gary M. Kramer Justin Torres’ messy, heartbreaking novel We the Animals has been adapted for the screen by director Jeremiah Zagar, who co-wrote the script with gay playwright Dan Kitrosser. The result is a messy, heartbreaking and fantastic film, full of hard-edged realism and moments of magical realism.

The story concerns three brothers, Jonah (Evan Rosado), Manny (Isaiah Kristian) and Joel ( Josiah Gabriel), who live in Utica, New York, with their volatile father, Paps (Raúl Castillo), and their fragile mother (Sheila Vand). The brothers are close, and mostly fearless, playing in the nearby woods and wreaking havoc in the house with their noise and wild antics.

Jonah, the film’s protagonist, is the youngest and the most sensitive of the

We the Animals is an impressionistic film that focuses more on mood than plot. There are moments of drama— as when Paps leaves the family after an upsetting incident—but what is most palpable in the wake of his absence is the heat, the hunger and the desperation the kids feel being left alone with Ma, who is depressed and won’t cook, or eat, or get out of bed.

Zagar films many scenes in close-up, capturing the intimate details of the characters as they eke out a life. Chasing the kids through the woods, or catching their faces hiding behind a shower curtain as Paps tries to seduce Ma, are enchanting scenes that ref lect the innocence and mischief of childhood.

Cinematographer Zak Mulligan bat hes t he film in a natu r a l l i g ht .

That the sun offers brightness, if not exactly warmth, only adds to the film’s burnished tone.

The film does address some heavier themes as the kids meet a young man nearby who shows them some pornographic videos. While Manny and Joel are excited by most of what they see, they express their disgust at a snippet of two men having sex.

Jonah, however, is intrigued by the (continued on page 27)

Age Desires Lyrics ened my senses, a saturating aromatherapy masking all other sense and non-sense.

Post college, I came to the Sorbonne in Paris. I breathed poetry. I drank poetry. My friends, speaking the lyrics of other continents, begged for lines from me in French—so easy to feel, to express in French. I demanded lines from myself, to sense the soul. Without poetry, I’d be nothing, right?

Words Michele Karlsberg Michele Karlsberg: Dolores Maggiore, author of Death and Love at the Old Summer Camp and Love and Lechery at Albert Academy is featured in this issue of the San Francisco Bay Times.

I asked Dolores to discuss why she writes.

Dolores Maggiore: Why write? Why do I write? Why did I not write? When? And write what?

These aren’t just the curious questions people ask me at readings. They come as ghostly self-interrogation during the night, and damn! I can’t just give name, rank and serial number.

It’s torture ... when I can’t write ... when I couldn’t get a job in writing or publishing straight out of college. I had to write— poet r y t hen— a compulsion. The song in the breeze made me do it.

The heady bouquet rolling off the river running by my college lawn awak-

And then crept up the serious 40s, the change of career and re-inventing of life—a psychosocial incline. Again, I had to write, no, not as a thirst, but as obligation: my social work program lacked lesbian resources in its consciousness-raising curriculum. Lesbians, we were not just female versions of gay men. I needed to write of lesbian voices, of lesbian issues, of lesbian literature, of lesbians in 1976–1990. I gave voice to lesbian mothers, struggling to give birth, to hold onto their children, to fight for their rights.

I’d had a job to do. It was over. I was living without poetry, without spark, without the inspiration to write, except letters to my heroine writers to harass them on a perceived lack of feminist sensitivity. How dare Annie Dillard, and in a commencement address? I received apologetic responses. I wrote newspaper articles on travel and museums because the Hood River News needed them and asked me. I wrote nothing of me. (continued on page 27) S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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This Month at the Castro Farmers’ Market Melon Mania Your Castro Farmers’ Market is filling up with one of summer’s favorite fruits—melons! Gather ‘round the market booths and you will discover a plethora of just-picked, farmer-grown melons in every shape and size. The market has it all, from big, dark green watermelons, to yellow Canary and Santa Claus melons, to Sharlyn, Casaba and the ubiquitous cantaloupe.

Let’s start with Arata Fruit Farm.

You know them for their marvelous stone fruit, but right now you need to check out their Crimson Sweet watermelon, honeydew, Sharlyn and cantaloupe varieties. Farming since 1918, they hail from Byron across the Bay. Family-run and operated, Michael Arata says they hand-pick and harvest everything they grow and hope to bring you the freshest produce for many more years to come.

Another farm, new to the market this year, is Free Spirit Farm out of Pescadero. They grow many vegetables, but this time of year, they bring a mixed variety of cantaloupe, a member of the muskmelon variety. With a small farm of 7 acres in Winters, Toby Hastings offers sus-

Take Me Home with You! Einstein

“Hello! My name is Einstein.

I’m curious, smart and looking for someone special who wants to explore the world with me. I enjoy meeting new people and learning new obedience manners and tricks. I’ve been called a social butterfly, and my favorite days are those spent out and about.

Let’s go discover San Francisco together!”

Einstein is presented to San Francisco Bay Times readers by Dr. Jennifer Scarlett, the SF SPCA’s Co-President. Our thanks also go to Krista Maloney for helping to get the word out about lovable pets like Einstein.

To meet Einstein, as well as other pets seeking their forever homes, please visit: San Francisco SPCA Mission Campus 250 Florida Street San Francisco, CA 94103 415-522-3500

Dr. Jennifer Scarlett and Pup

Aside from major holidays, the adoption center is open Mon–Fri: 1–6 pm and Sat–Sun: 10 am–5 pm. Free parking is available for those wishing to adopt!

For more information: www.sfspca.org/adopt

tainably-grown produce from the heart. With his quiet, Zen-like view of the world, his products reflect his outlook with their flavor and substance.

Jacob’s Farm out of Los Banos has a remarkable variety of mixed cantaloupe hybrids, like the piel de sapo (Santa Claus) melon, honeydew, and Canary melons. But don’t stop there, because they have quite an array of amazing summer vegetables to enjoy. Ivan Garcia is part of a larger farming family and just received his organic certification!

So you see, the Castro Farmers’ Market offers you a variety of the freshest produce (and melons!) available, with new products arriving every week, direct from the farmers who grew them. Discover new varieties and new tastes that you won’t find in any supermarket.

Since the month of August also included National Farmers’ Market Week—it took place from August 5–11—we celebrate all of those who make the farmers’ market a success. We would like to thank you, our faithful customers, and the community, local businesses and market sponsors for your continued support of the Castro Farmers’ Market.

Neighborhood Visit: Berkeley’s Elmwood District As for San Francisco’s Noe Valley, the Elmwood District in Berkeley seamlessly blends beautiful homes with a village-like commercial area, mostly centered on College Avenue.

The stores and restaurants are nearly all small businesses with their own unique charms.

For some of the Bay Area’s best pi zza , head over to Nabolom Ba ker y & Pizzeria at 2708 Russell Street, just around the corner from College Ave. A few members of our San Francisco Bay Times team continue to rave about it: the f laky and distinctive crust, flavorful herbs, fresh juicy tomatoes and quality generous-portioned cheese, for a start. There is no shortage of delicious pizza in Berkeley, but funky no-frills Nabolom with its vintage kitchen equipment in the windows hits it out of the park. Check the website for Pizza Hours (http://nabolombakery.com/).

Nearby Sweet Dreams Candy and Gifts, with its old-fashioned candy counter, is a local treasure. Can’t have, or don’t want, sugar? They have an extensive selection of sugar-free treats. You’ll find clothing, books and novelty items galore at this welcoming store located at 2921 College Ave. For kids of all ages there is also Sweet Dreams Toy Store just a few doors down.

San Francisco has a few Goorin Bros. Hat Shops, and this mighty millinery is well represented in the Elmwood at 2926 College Ave. The hats are very well made—not of the tourist trap variety.

Friendly, expert service will get you the perfect look and fit.

Bill’s Trading Post & Gem Gallery at 2945 College Ave. is a family-owned jewelry store that also stocks an impressive collection of Native American pottery, rugs and baskets. A member of our team gets her watch batteries and bands there. In our all-too-often throwaway society, it is refreshing to have a place that repairs jewelry and helps to extend the life of watches. (Time Masters and Oaks Jewelers on Solano Ave. in Albany both offer even more extensive watch repair services, but that’s for another East Bay neighborhood visit.)

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Weddings, Occasions & Relationships How to Transform from Blamer to Learner A relationship is about give and take and understanding each other, listening and not necessarily agreeing with, but respecting, one another’s opinions. Few people are willing to look internally and ask themselves critical questions, such as: • Who do I need to be so that my partner wants to be with me?

Lonely No More Scott Tsui Recently, I discussed two broad categories of people in relationships who have better chances of achieving relationship success. There are Naturals, who are comfortable in their own skin. Naturals are thoughtful, compassionate, forgiving and “relationship ready.” Then there are Learners, who learn and develop through curiosity about themselves and look to advance their relationships through listening, reflecting and making positive improvements.

Now we’ll discuss Blamers, those who are the opposite of the other two types. Blamers often find it difficult to sustain happy, meaningful and lasting relationships. They believe it’s not their fault and feel victims of external circumstances. There are three main types of blaming that Blamers practice.

Blaming Others Blamers who blame others lack emotional and psychological maturity. They don’t take responsibility for their actions and conversations. They often have narcissistic traits. When problems occur, they are never their fault. They’re never wrong and you probably won’t hear an apology. Criticism comes easy to these Blamers.

Jake, a gay man in his mid-50s who is tall, slim, good-looking and successful, was recently left by his boyfriend. His history was a series of short-lived relationships; no partner could take his attitude for too long.

Those who knew him viewed him as self-centered with a lack of empathy and compassion. When asked if Jake knew the reason why his ex broke up with him, and if he had tried to save the relationship, he simply replied, “No, because he’ll never tell you, so why bother.”

In investigating this in more depth, it became apparent that Jake’s attitude was, “It’s not my fault.” He wasn’t prepared to take responsibility for his part in this relationship. His ex had been trying to communicate with Jake for a while, but Jake refused to listen and to talk things over.

• How can I appreciate my partner and understand them?

• What role do I play in this relationship for it to be loving and long lasting?

The easy way out is to simply move on to another relationship and repeat the dating cycle until the next breakup happens again. This is shallow and meaningless. Subsequently, a Blamer always wonders why they can’t sustain a lasting relationship. If Blamers keep rejecting the idea of developing the self-awareness required in building a relationship, they’ll continue to suffer from their tunnel vision and self-served behavior and won’t find the solution or the happiness that connection brings.

Self-blame A complete opposite of blaming others, self-blame comes from internal conversations such as, “What’s wrong with me?” “I am not worthy,” “I don’t deserve it,” or, “It’s all my fault, I shouldn’t/ should have ... .”

At the age of 8, Dan was abandoned by his father. This left a belief pattern of “people leave because of me.” Dan found it difficult to maintain relationships. He had low self-esteem, low trust and was often apologetic, taking on the blame. Dan broke up with his partner because he didn’t feel worthy of his partner’s love.

According to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers, the people most likely to suffer from self-blame often have been invalidated, abused or had a signif icant event in their childhood and are more likely to have troubled romantic relationships in adult years. That kind of childhood experience leads to the notion of viewing oneself as the problem.

We can turn to self-doubt and lack of confidence when we’re afraid or can’t control situations. Self-doubt is not ingrained in our mind permanently; it’s situational, while self-blame could turn into emotional abuse or judgement to ourselves. While some people with self-blame might need professional help to resolve issues, others

can prevent it by omitting derogatory and harsh self-talk. Instead, they can strive to find compassion, kindness and forgiveness within themselves and give permission to love. Self-blamers should become aware of being over critical or judgmental. Raising awareness is the first step to preventing self-blame. Social support, higher education and physical activities could further minimize or eliminate self-blame.

Blaming Events We all have defining events in our past. Some of those events become stories that can be paralyzing and prevent us from moving forward to a bright and hopeful future.

Kevin, a 65-year-old gay man whose partner cheated on him over thirty years ago, equated relationships to pain. He was so hurt that he has remained single ever since and hasn’t dated anyone or attracted relationships.

If we develop the consciousness, and the ability to differentiate between the psychology and perspective of “because of this happening, I become helpless” compared to “because of this happening, I thrive and become stronger,” we can give ourselves a survivor attitude rather than one of victim.

Using empowering language is foremost, as this creates an opportunity to heal and to avoid blame that could ruin any opportunity of developing meaningful, romantic relationships.

In short, blaming plays a big part in relationship failure. As Tony Robbins said, “All pain comes from a stor y that is self ishly viewed; as a result, our perception becomes a reality. If we focus continuously on ourselves and we are not getting what we want, there will always be pain.”

Switching to solution-based thinking and activating a learning attitude are the primary keys to transforming from Blamer to Learner.

Life will become more meaningful, and you’ll see the world in a much better space.

Scott Tsui is the Relationship Results Coach, author of “Lonely No More – 8 Steps to Find Your Gay Husband” and the creator of the world’s first online gay relationship training: Gay Men Relationship Blueprint. Tsui works to help gay men find, attract and sustain meaning ful relationships. For more information: http://scotttsui.com/

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Friendly volunteers staffed the PFLAG booth on August 4 at the 45th Nihonmachi Street Fair held in Japantown where this year’s theme was “For the Community. Embracing All Communities.”

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hat is now the Castro Walgreens at 498 Castro Street was once Star Pharmacy.

It was there, in late 1981, where public health nurse Bobbi Campbell (1952–1984) posted some of the first notices warning about a then mysterious “gay cancer.” Rink, in what was to become one of his most distributed photographs, captured the moment when a group of men read the information and looked at the disturbing provided images. Doctors at that point had discovered clusters of Kaposi’s sarcoma cases and pneumocystis pneumonia in young gay men not only in San Francisco, but also in New York City and Los Angeles.

Rink’s photo conveys the shocked concern of the time, which left many with questions that did not yet have proper answers. Campbell was just the 16th person in San Francisco to be diagnosed with Kaposi’s sarcoma, and later was the first to come out publicly as a person with what came to be known as AIDS. He was featured on the cover of Newsweek in 1983 (https://calisphere.org/item/12fe6c66-d2344ea4-9038-efd4c655578f/). Just a year later, after living for over 3 1/2 years with AIDS, Campbell succumbed to complications of the virus at age 32.

Star Pharmacy closed in 1985, the same year that the city recorded 1000 deaths from AIDS—most of them being gay men who lived within a six-block radius of the Castro and Market intersection, according to Vietnam War veteran Leonard Matlovich (1943–1988), who publicly came out. Matlovich at the time recalled, “The neighborhood, once flush with sexual liberation and political empowerment, now found itself under mortal attack from an invisible enemy.” He too later died of complications from HIV/AIDS less than a month before his 45th birthday.

Walgreens moved into the location not long after the closure of Star Pharmacy. With the epidemic still underway, this Walgreens shortly thereafter set prescription sales records due to the medical needs of locals.

While medications are now effective in staving off the virus, the organization UNAIDS reports that worldwide, 1.8 million people became newly infected with HIV in 2017, with 940,00 people dying from AIDS-related illnesses that same year. It is therefore important that we not become complacent in the ongoing fight against HIV/AIDS. 22

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SFPD officers were on hand to welcome festival goers at the Nihonmachi Street Fair held in Japantown.

Owner Tim Schuyler with the Scopo DiVino lounge and resturant’s impressive wine offerings.

El Cerrito’s out gay mayor, Gabriel Quinto, posed with a beauty queen during the 25th Filipino Pistahan Festival held at Yerba Buena Gardens on August 12. The Festival attracts more than 80,000 over its two days.

Megan Sullivan served wine and oysters at Scopo DiVino wine bar and restaurant on August 11.

Gourmet pastries, such as the mixed fruit almond croissant, were displayed

by B Patisserie staff member Sophie at the popular Pacific Heights bakery.

Al Perez (right), president of the Filipino Pistahan Festival, was joined by volunteer Joemar Olit in welcoming attendees to Yerba Buena Gardens on August 12.

Busy food booths offered treats from the Philippines during the Pistahan Festival on August 12.

Jack Henyon and Ken Hamai enjoyed the Chili Cook Off, hosted

by Miss Cowgirl Anita Hero and Mr. Cowboy Joaquin Gonzalez at Cinch bar on August 12.

Guests at the Imperial Council’s Chili Cook Off held at Cinch bar on August 12

Festival president Al Perez and project manager Edwin Lozada were on hand in the Art Pavilion at the Pistahan Festival on August 12.

San Francisco Bay Times contributor Kit Tapata and Joaquin Gonzalez at the Imperial Council Chili Cook Off at Cinch bar Anita Hero and Matthew Denckla at the Imperial Council’s Chili Cook Off at Cinch Bar

Alex Randolph and Trevor Nguyen out for a stroll on Castro Street on an August evening

Mercedez Munro (left) and guests at the Imperial Chili Cook Off at Cinch bar

Guests at the Imperial Council’s Chili Cook Off at Cinch Bar

Guests at the Imperial Council’s Chili Cook Off at Cinch Bar

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The Peace Pagoda in Japantown served as a band stand for Polynesian music performers at the 45th Nihonmachi Street Fair where Asian Pacific culture, traditions and foods are on display annually.

Dancer Phillip Ruise, known for his performances in the Little Egypt belly dances at ODC, performed at the 18th and Castro sidewalk area known as Hibernia Beach.

Members and friends of the Imperial Court gathered at Beaux lounge on August 11 for the introduction of contestants for the upcoming selection of this year’s Mr. and Miss Golden Gate.

Donna Sachet, Armin Lindegger (left) and Matthew Denckla (right) were all smiles at Twin Peaks bar on August 18 during the Imperial Council’s annual High Tea Party held each year to remember founder José Sarria.

Kevin Lisle and CoCo Butter Big Daddy Lopez shared a hug during the Imperial Court’s party at Beaux lounge on August 11.

A new sign at Dolores Park requests help in keeping the park clean and free of debris.

items of the week Death Star ‘Circo’ Cheese Board & Tool Set by Picnic Time The Circo by Picnic Time is compact and convenient. The 10.2″ (diameter) laser cut chopping board swivels open to reveal four stainless steel cheese tools inside. Put a playful twist on your Opera in the Park experience.

The Beach Sounds portable radio and Bluetooth speaker

by Sunnylife DJ Gio Adame and Tye Olson (left), with friends at the Mr. and Miss Golden Gate party at Beaux lounge.

Greeters Louai Sawah, Heather Menzies, and Patrick Tindana welcomed guests to the Queer Slam Competition at the SF LGBT Center.

Listen to the sweet sounds of summer with this tropical tune maker. Play your favorite radio station in full stereo or stream to the powerful speakers from any smartphone through Bluetooth or the included audio jack.

As we ease into the balmy days of late summer, we look forward to some of our favorite weekend events. This year we’re enjoying the 2018 Film Night in the Park series. Lady Bird is next on Saturday, August 25, at Washington Square Park. The series ends at Dolores Park with Black Panther on September 22.

Some other staff favorites are: Opera in the Park September 9th Hardly Strictly Bluegrass October 5-7 Organizers and finalists on stage at the Queer Slam Competition at the San Francisco LGBT Center on August 9

Performer Anne-Christine D’Adesky at the Queer Slam Competition at the SF LGBT Center

As Heard on the Street . . .

When was the last time you were in the South Bay and why were you there? compiled by Rink

Raymond Hong

Roberta Gonzales-Gregg

“My colleagues and I were at Crea TV San Jose station on Thursday, July 12, taping Outlook Video, the Bay Area’s longest running LGBT newsmagazine on community access television.”

“I live in the Peninsula/South Bay. I find many diverse and vibrant LGBTQ events held at the Billy deFrank Centre, the Silicon Valley Office of LGBT Affairs, and the San Mateo Pride Center, to name just a few. ” S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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COMING UP

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CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS http://sfbaytimes.com/

23 Thursday Women’s Equality Day @ San Francisco City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place. The SF Commission on the Status of Women and the League of Women Voters of San Francisco will launch the “W Challenge” program aimed at increasing the voter participation of women with a discussion on how to get appointed to city boards and commissions. 5-7pm. http://www.bit.ly/wchallengepledge or http://www.sfgov.org/dosw Bonnie Morris: Editor of The Feminist Revolution @ Laurel Book Store, 1423 Broadway, Oakland. Local author and professor Bonnie Morris will discuss and read from The Feminist Revolution. 6pm. http://www.laurelbookstore.com Rainbow Toastmasters @ St. Francis Lutheran Church, 152 Church Street. The event is the Bay Area’s largest communications skills training resource for the LGBT community. Dinner follows at a local restaurant. 6-7:30pm. http://www.rainbowtoastmasters.org Latinx Queerness: LGBT Visibility in Bay Area Latinx Arts @ GLBT History

Museum, 4127 18th Street. A panel discussion, moderated by Orlando de la Garza, will consider the role of local Latinx artists and activists in the Bay Area’s Latinx culture and how artists contribute to awareness about and violence against LGBTQ people. 7-9pm. http://www.glbthistory.org

Playhouse presents the world premiere of Lynn Rosen’s play based in a D.C. proofreading office where it’s hot and proofreaders ponder their futures after a costly mistake. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through September 1. http://www.sfplayhouse.org

A Sacred Beautiful - Natural Heritage Hair: An African Diasporan Photo Exposé @ San Francisco Human Rights Commission, 25 Van Ness Avenue. The Black Woman Is God presents this exhibit featuring eighteen images by photographers KaliMa AmiLak and Nye’ Lyn Tho. Monday through Friday, 9am-12noon and 1pm-4pm through October 2. http://www.theblackwomanisgod.com

25 Saturday

Gays Against Guns SF @ MCC San Francisco, 1300 Polk Street. Meetings every 2nd and 4th Thursdays are held by this direct action group of LGBTQ people and allies. 6pm. http://www.gaysagainstgunssf@gmail.com

24 Friday Washed Up on the Potomac World Premiere @ The Custom Made Theatre, 533 Sutter Street, 2nd Floor. San Francisco

Shop Out Day - Fillmore @ Participating Fillmore District Businesses. This daylong fundraiser, benefiting the SF LGBT Center, is organized by the San Francisco Fillmore Merchants Association. 9am-7pm.

Shop Out Day: Fillmore on Facebook or http://www.sfcenter.org Chocolate & Chalk Art Festival @ Gourmet Ghetto, Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley.

Artists of all ages and skill levels including youngsters will create fanciful chalk drawings on the sidewalks with prizes for the best drawings and also the chance to enjoy a menu featuring over 25 to-go items. 10am-5pm. http://www.anotherbullwinkelshow.com Stockton Pride Festival @ Weber Point Events Center, 221 N. Center Street, Stockton. Singer/songwriter Jill Jones will headline the full day of entertainment at the 7th Annual LGBT+ Pride Festival. 11am-7pm. http://www.stocktonpride.com Mango Sweet Sexy Fun for Women @ El Rio, 33158 Mission Street. DJs Edaj, Marcella, Olga and La Coqui will spin the best in hip-hop, dancehall and Latin grooves at the longest standing t-dance for women and their friends. 2pm. http://www.elriosf.com Imperial Council 60th Anniversary Fundraiser @ Encore Karaoke Lounge, 1550 California Street, 2nd Floor. Absolute Empresses China Silk and Chika will host this annual event featuring emcees, raffle prizes and refreshments. 3-6pm. http://imperialcouncilsf.org GAPA (Gay Asian Pacific Alliance) Runway XXX & VIP Reception 2018 @ Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Avenue, Rm 110. For 2018, the theme is “Quest for the Pearl” as the organization presents its annual pageant celebrating the “gaysian” community and selecting new GAPA royals. 5:30-7pm pre-show reception; 7-10pm program. http://www.gapafoundation.org The Duo Quartet @ Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley. Pam & Jerry join with Nina Gerber and Chris Webster for an evening of rip-roaring covers, ballads and big harmonies. 8-11pm. http://www.thefreight.org Bad Ass Boots, Jonesy and Harmonic Law @ The Fireside Lounge, 1453 Webster Street, Alameda. The event will be an evening of multi-genre music, including country, soul, rock, blues and more. 9pm-1am. http://www.badassboots.com

26 Sunday Paint the Town Rainbow PrePride Happy Hour @ White Horse Bar, 6551 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland. An Oakland Pride Happy Hour and Fundraiser, the event includes the chance to help install temporary rainbow crosswalks at 24

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66th and Telegraph Streets. 4:30-6:30pm. http://www.whitehorsebar.com Silicon Valley Pride @ Plaza De Cesar Chavez, 1 Paseo De San Antonio, San Jose.

The annual Pride Parade and Festival includes entertainment, exhibit booths plus food and beverages. Parade 10am-12noon; Festival 12noon-6pm. http://www.svpride.com Pianos in the Plaza with John Morgan @ Jane Warner Plaza, 17th and Castro Streets. The outdoor performance is one in the on-going Live! in the Castro series hosted by the Castro Community Business District.

1pm. http://www.castrobd.org

27 Monday Monthly LGBT Social Mixer @ San Rafael Joe’s, 931 4th Street. Held on the 4th Monday, this monthly networking mixer is organized by The Spahr Center. 4:30pm. http://www.thespahrcenter.org BentBoyBooks @ Dog Eared Books Castro, 489 Castro Street. Jennifer Blowdryer or “JB” will present her new book, The Most Harmless Person You Are Ever Going to Meet in Your Life. 7-9pm. http://www.dogearedbooks.com

28 Tuesday Drop In Support Group for LGBTQ+ Parents @ Children’s Day School, 333 Dolores Street. Hosted by Our Family Coalition, the event is free with preregistration and includes a meal followed by facilitated discussions about family and childrearing. 6-8pm. http://www.ourfamily.org Castro Rotary Meeting @ The Sausage Factory, 517 Castro Street. The club will welcome Rotary District 5150’s Jayne Hulbert as a special guest. 6:30-8PM. http://www.portal.clubrunner.ca/13807

29 Wednesday Rod Stewart’s Summer Tour with Cyndi Lauper @ Shoreline Amphitheatre, Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View. LGBTQ favorite Cyndi Lauper is the special guest for the tour starring Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Rod Stewart. 7:30pm. http://www.cyndilauper.com

30 Thursday AGUILAS Monthly Social @ San Francisco LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street. On the final Thursday each month the organization supporting Latino men and their friends hosts this event featuring a show and dinner. HIV testing available. 6pm. http://www.sfaguilas.org

31 Friday Festival of the Babes SF @ 725 California Avenue. It’s a women’s soccer tournament, launching on Friday and continuing through the weekend, where lesbians and those willing to be mistaken for one enjoy playing games that have everything a real soccer game doesn’t, including dance parties with DJs Campbell, Samala and Rockaway. 5pm and continues through September 2. http://www.festivalofthebabes.com

SoicalGUYzing @ Rainbow Community Center, 2118 Willow Pass Road, Suite 500, Concord.

A social networking event for gay, bi, trans and ally men that includes discussion of issues. 7pm. http://www.rainbowcc.org Lesbian & Queer Women of Color Support Group @ The Pacific Center, 2812 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley. A monthly peer support group on the final Friday each month for queer women of color. 7-9pm. http://www.pacificcenter.org In the Heights @ Woodminster Amphitheater, Joaquin Miller Park, Oakland. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s award-winning musical, about the vibrant Washington Heights neighborhood in New York, is the closing production of the 52 Woodminister Summer Musicals season. 8pm and continues through September 9. http://www.woodminister.com

SEPTEMBER

1 Saturday Oakland GLBTQ Center 1st Anniversary @ Multiple Oakland Venues. The Center launches nine days of events and activities celebrating their first year, including film, fashion, workshops, dance battle, vogue ball competition, wellness expo and more. https://www.oaklandlgbtqcenter.org Live! In The Castro presents Mark Etheredge @ Jane Warner Plaza, 17th and Castro Street. The outdoor performance is one in the on-going Live! in the Castro series hosted by the Castro Community Business District. 1pm. http://www.castrobd.org Shakespeare in the Park: A Midsummer Night’s Dream @ Presidio, Civil War Parade Lawn. Bring a picnic and blanket and enjoy the setting for this free performance of the classic play.

2pm. http://www.sfshakes.org Labor of Love Music Festival @ El Rio, 3158 Mission Street. A full day of ska and reggae held outdoors at El Rio, organized by Burnt and featuring Monkey, The Titan Ups, La Noche Oskura and more. 2pm. http://www.laboroflovefest.com LGBTQ Family MeetUp @ Community Well, 78 Ocean Avenue. For parents, and those expecting or hoping to be, who are part of the LGBTQ community, where parents and children come together to share snacks and build community. 3pm. http://www.communitywellsf.com Galilea Saturdays @ Ginger’s, 86 Hardie Place. Galilea hosts this monthly show featuring “real San Francisco drag” with special guest DJs. 9pm. http://www.gingers.bar Go BANG! Celebrates Sylvester @ The Stud, 399 9th Street. Jim Hopkins and Chaka Quan host the 7th annual celebration of Sylvester with arch lights by The Trocadero Transfer’s diva Carla Ann Nicholson. 9pm. http://www.studsf.com Ships In The Night @ The Complex, 420 14th Street, Oakland. A queer dance party and organization that facilitates arts-based fundraisers for local, community-oriented Bay Area projects. Beneficiary is TRANScend, a retreat for trans and genderqueer. htttp://www. shipsinthe night.blogspot.com

2 Sunday Unleash Dance Party @ Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Avenue, Albany. Legendary DJ Page Hodel is joined by DJ Mysdefy in hosting the longest running dance

party in Berkeley/Albany. 4pm. http://www.ivyroom.com Holotta’s Un-BOYlievable Drag Show @ Club 1220, 1220 Pine Street, Walnut Creek. This 1st and 3rd Sunday monthly event features the best of drag in the East Bay. 9pm. Holotta’s Un-BOYlievableDrag-Show on Facebook

3 Monday LABOR DAY

The Doctor Is In: CROI Update @ Strut, 470 Castro Street. Join Positive Force and HIV specialist Neal Sheran, MD, from the Mission Neighborhood Health Center who will give an update on information from the Conference on retroviruses and opportunistic infections 2018. 6:30-7pm dinner and networking / discussion 7-8:30pm. http://www.strutsf.org

16th Annual Cowgirl Palooza @ El Rio, 3158 Mission Street.

Rhinstone studded, gingham, beadazzled and tasseled shirts plus boots are encouraged at this annual party featuring cold drinks, BBQ and good tunes by Valerie Jay, Crying Time, The Muddy Roses and Velvetta. 3pm. http://www.elriosf.com

5 Wednesday

50+ Monthly Coffee Break @ Cafe Zoe, 1929 Menalto Avenue, Menlo Park. For LGBTQ adults 50+ hosted by San Mateo County Pride, this 1st Monday monthly event is part of the Sunshine Series and will address “Relationships” as its discussion topic. http://www.sanmateopride.org

Political Animals Film Screening @ Ellen Driscoll Playhouse, 325 Highland Avenue, Piedmont. The Appreciating Diversity Film Series launches its new season with a timely and inspiring film about civil rights victories of the first four openly gay elected California state politicians who were all women: Carol Migden, Sheila Kuehl, Jackie Goldberg and Christine Kehoe.

7pm and also September 8, 3pm at The New Parkway, Oakland. http://www.diversityfilmseries.org

Picnic and Serpentine Dance (Abbots Bromley “Antler Dance”) @ Joaquin Miller Park, 3450 Joaquin Miller Road, Oakland.

Bring blankets and favorite foods for this annual outdoor event hosted by cast members and friends of The California Revels organization. 11:30am-3pm. http://www.californiarevels.org

4 Tuesday Free Day at The Conservatory of Flowers @ Golden Gate Park 100 John F. Kennedy Drive. The first Tuesday each month offers free entrance and the chance to see 1,700 species of plants from 50 countries. 9am-4pm. http://www. conservatoryofflowers.org Grown Folks - Ages 18-25 @ Community Health Awareness Council (CHAC), 590 W. El Camino Real, Mountain View. A safe and confidential support group on queer issues geared toward young adults who are in college or transitioning into work and gaining more independence. 6pm. http://www.acs-teens.org

GLBT History Museum Free First Wednesdays @ GLBT History Museum, 4127 18th Street. Access to the museum and its exhibits is free for all visitors once per month. 11am-6pm. http://www.glbthistory.org

6 Thursday Welcome Reception for Laura Valdéz @ 220 Dolores Street. Dolores Street Community Services hosts this garden party reception welcoming their new executive director. 5:30-7:30pm.

RSVP to anne@dscs.org Castro Art Walk @ Dog Eared Books Castro, 489 Castro Street.

Author Avery Cassell will present her book, Butch Lesbians of the ’50s, ’60s, and ‘70s Coloring Book. 7-9pm. http://www.dogearedbooks.com A Doll’s House, Part 2 @ Roda Theatre, Berkeley Rep, 2015 Addison Street, Berkeley. The play takes up where Ibsen left off, with Nora returning after fifteen years in this Tony Award-nominated comedy.

8pm. http://www.berkeleyrep.org S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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LENO (continued from page 11)

This reminds me of one of my several conflicts—I love football, but think it’s a deadly and barbaric sport. The other big conflict I have is that I love adorable animals and yet allow them to be slaughtered for my dining pleasure. But speaking of football, it’s that time again. Some of you know what I’m talking about. Some of you care. Yes, it’s college football season!

As I said, I’m conflicted here because the first game for one of my favorite teams is against the University of Maryland, where a student was basically killed by macho coaches who made him run around and do whatever until he collapsed. The coaches made little effort to get immediate medical care, which would have saved him, eventually calling 911. The boy never recovered and died a week or so later. Making matters worse, this happened in early June and the coaches are still employed, although I think they had to take a leave of absence for a while. The strength conditioning coach, who sounds insane, was let go with a nice severance package. But this is all the more reason for everyone to root for Texas, right?

Go Horns!

Them Too So what else is new? I was reading about how Batwoman was created in order to take the pressure off of Batman and Robin, who were starting to attract rumors. I always wondered about those two myself.

I was also reading that horrible story about the transgender girl in Oklahoma who was the subject of violent threats by her class-

mates’ parents. Twelve-year-old Maddie was in her first week of middle school in an unfamiliar building, where she was using the girls’ bathroom instead of the staff bathroom she used at her previous school.

Facebook posts included a threat to get “a good sharp knife” to help Maddie transition “really quick.” The local sheriff closed the school for several days while the threats were investigated, while Maddie’s mother got a restraining order against one of the aggressive fathers. A couple dozen teens held a rally in support of Maddie; this was the only good thing about the story. I have a lot of faith in the rising generation, GenZ, iGen or whatever. I wish they’d grow up faster.

Then there was the sexual harassment accusation against a New York University professor, Avital Ronell, by one of her students, Nimrod Reitman. I have a small confession to make, and that is that I am so tired of Me Too stories and the various variations on the theme, that I tend to swipe right past them. But I can’t ignore a story that includes someone called “Nimrod.” Nimrod! Is that really his name?

Well, yes, it is! And Nimrod was relentlessly harangued and texted and cajoled and phoned and pursued and harassed in the broadest sense of the word by his older female professor. And they were both gay!

Say what?

A good article in the Christian Science Monitor explains how exhausting it is to be the target of someone with more power; someone you can’t easily escape. It’s not even the

sexual side. It’s the constant need to deflect, to parry and to carve out space for yourself without destroying the underlying relationship. Because, if you think about it, when there’s no power dichotomy and when the relationship doesn’t matter, sexual harassment is never prolonged. It’s arrested at once. Here, the man was beset. As the article describes it, Ronell demanded his attention “at all hours of the night, across three continents, on email, phone, Skype, in person, on campus, on other campuses ... in apartments, classrooms, hallways, offices, subway stations ... . It’s almost as if Reitman could have no life apart from her.”

Ronell claims her affections were part of a whimsical repartee, “largely gay-coded,” she says, “with literary allusions, poetic runs and obviously exaggerated expressions of tenderness that were often initiated and returned by Reitman.” Indeed, some of his emails sound extremely affectionate; in particular, the early ones. Frankly, I can’t figure out their odd bond, but it seems clear that by the end, Nimrod had been driven mad by this woman, calling her “the monster” to others and dreading every encounter.

The whole business turns sexual harassment on its ear and I think it reveals the real horror of it all: being under someone’s control, being trapped, being used, being dehumanized. Sex is only one tool for that.

Literary allusions and poetic runs can work too, in the right hands. arostow@aol.com

SISTER DANA (continued from page 25) On August 26, all across the country, Americans will stand united in commitment to our freedom and our future to demand that the U.S. Senate stop Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination for a lifelong appointment to the Supreme Court. This is the Repugnican right-winger who believes Trump is above the law and cannot be impeached. EssEff’s rally will be in Civic Center at 1 pm.

Eagle Beer Bust Benefit for TENDERLOIN TESSIE HOLIDAY DINNERS is on September 2, 3–6 pm at the Eagle, 398

12th Street. $15 for all the beer or soda you can drink, and it includes food. For those not wanting to do the Beer Bust, you can have just food for $5. M.C’s will be Michael Gagne (President of Tenderloin Tessie) and Steve Jirgl (The Pushy Man of Tenderloin Tessie). This charitable organization is a nonprofit that has been feeding the community of San Francisco on Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas for over 40 years. http://www.tenderlointessie.com San Francisco’s 42ND STREET MOON has announced the cast

and creative team for the upcoming special engagement of Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Awardwinning musical FOLLIES in concert, featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman.

Both performances will take place at the Alcazar Theatre (650 Geary Street) on Friday, September 7, and Saturday, September 8, 8 pm. Tickets are $45 and can be purchased through the Box Office at (415) 255-8207 or online at www.42ndstmoon.org

Sister Dana sez, “I was thrilled to hear that the LGBTQ civil rights group ResisDance Media was planning to disrupt the Unite the Right gathering in D.C. with ‘lots of raging trans and queer dancers, ANSWER (Question on pg 13) rainbow biodegradable confetti, bumpin’ beats, and D) The Normal Heart fabulousness.’ Meanwhile Before becoming an Emmy-winning HBO a measly two dozen white film, Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart nationalist Nazis were debuted in 1985 at The Public Theatre in greeted by thousands of lovely lively anti-racism New York City. activists.”

KIT’N KITTY’S

QUEER POP QUIZ

and ultimately to reduce the dangers of war by strengthening peace and unity amongst all people.

While the Olympics are exciting and fantastic, only a tiny sliver of elite athletes who devote themselves entirely to sport ever get to compete. Fortunately, there are more and more opportunities like the Gay Games for all kinds of people to participate. A partial list includes the Paralympics, Special Olympics, Maccabiah Games (international Jewish Olympics, where I have played golf three times and won some gold!), Pan-Arab Games, Asian Games, All-Africa Games, European Games, World Beach Games, World Artistic Games, Urban Games, Military Games, World Youth Games, Universiade World Student Games, World Masters Games—plus new World Mind Games and e-Games!

The idea is to give everyone a chance to train hard, to develop their passions and skills, and to come together to experience the challenges and thrills of competition and the incomparable joys of connecting with people from all kinds of backgrounds, countries and cultures.

As I always do my best to emphasize, whether or not you see yourself as an athlete, we’re all living in physical bodies that we get to enjoy—and are responsible to exercise and keep as healthy as we can! I will always wish I could have made it to Paris this year. But along with all the happy and proud LGBTQ athletes who were there—and possibly you too—I’m already starting to save up for Gay Games 11 in Hong Kong come 2022!

Jamie Leno Zimron is a 6th Degree Aikido Black Belt, LPGA Golf Pro, Corporate Speaker and Holistic Peak Performance Trainer. Contact her for private lessons and coaching, or to work with your conference or company: 760-492-GOLF(4653) and jamiesensei@thekiaiway.com

FISCHER (continued from page 5) The absolute worst thing is to blow-off the endorsement meeting. If a candidate is “on the bubble,” this is a surefire way to lose support. I counsel candidates to find someone, anyone, to speak for them. Even a member of the club can fill in. A few years ago at Alice, a candidate called me on the morning of the meeting and asked me to be her surrogate. She had to miss the meeting because she was in active labor at the hospital.

She spelled out her talking points and goals for the office in between contractions—now that’s dedication! (Or unhealthy obsession?)

In order to be as efficient as possible, Alice does “precision scheduling” in which candidates are given an exact 5-minute time slot and asked to arrive at least 10 minutes in advance. This is a huge improvement over the old system in which candidates were given vague blocks of time to show up and then told to wait around for hours in the sweltering heat or freezing cold before being called.

Precision scheduling involves much more work, but it is worthwhile and candidates love the efficiency. We’re a political club; we’re not the cable company.

The endorsement process on the day of the meeting is where the “speed dating” takes place. Each candidate gets 5 minutes total to pitch their story and to take questions. Candidates are encouraged to use 3 minutes for the “speech” and to save 2 minutes for questions, which is barely enough time for 2–3 questions. Nervous first-timers, and some well-experienced candidates too, often blow through the whole 5 minutes without leaving time for questions. It’s a rookie move, because the questions are usually more interesting than the canned and memorized speeches.

GALLOTTA (continued from page 5) ers this November. In states with key swing Congressional districts, this green wave of additional voters may make all of the difference.

But it’s not just environmentalists who need to be mobilized. Last week, the Pew Research Center released a new report on the 2016 election revealing roughly 30 percent of eligible voters did not turn out. Pew’s data also shows that almost half of non-voters were people of color and two-thirds were under the age of 50. More than half of those who didn’t vote earned less than $30,000 a year.

The sleeping giant just got a whole lot bigger. If we’re going to fight back against this climate denying, anti-immigrant and racist President, we’ll need to connect the dots and bring environmentalists, young people, low-income people and communities of color together.

On September 8th, we will. Here in San Francisco, and in cities throughout the

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Once all of the speeches are done, the fun begins. The members of the club deliberate and discuss the merits of the candidates and ballot measures. Depending on the number of candidates, this can go very quickly (it never does), or take a long time (it usually does). The voting processes and endorsement thresholds are set in each club’s bylaws and differ from club to club. In general, a candidate—and measure—must hit a certain percentage in order to be endorsed.

If votes are split among multiple candidates and no one hits the required threshold, the club is stuck with the dreaded “No Position” decision for that office. This means the club could not come to a decision. It is generally not a negative statement about the candidates. In fact, in most cases it is a result of too many good people for only one job—an embarrassment of riches. This is different from “No Endorsement,” which means that the club either didn’t like anyone who was running, or in the case of unopposed races, the club really did not like the person who is essentially going to win anyhow.

So, armed with this knowledge, start paying attention in the next few weeks as slate cards fill your mailbox and your social media feeds fill up with endorsement data. If nothing else, you’ll know that the candidates chosen have survived a rigorous Hunger Games process to win that coveted endorsement.

Louise (Lou) Fischer is the Immediate Past Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club and has served as an appointed and elected Delegate for the State Democratic Party. She was a San Francisco Commissioner and has served in leadership positions in multiple non-profit and community based organizations. country, people will take to the streets and march for climate, jobs and justice. While we can’t undo the damage that has already been done, we can—and must—awaken the sleeping giant and fight fire with people power. We must let our nation’s elected leaders know that climate justice is a top priority.

In 2018, the easiest, greenest and most sustainable action that you can take is not just remembering to bring your reusable bag. It’s your vote.

Peter Gallotta is a 30-something LGBT political activist holding on to the city that he loves thanks to rent control and two-forone happy hour specials. He is a former President of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club and currently serves as an appointed member of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee and an elected delegate to the California Democratic Party.

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KARLSBERG (continued from page 19) Fifteen years later, at retirement’s door, my childhood summer adventures in Maine came to haunt me along with my Sicilian roots, itching to be heard. I answered, and with a great deal of poetic license and humor, wrote my first YA mysteries, for it was a mystery how the plots came to me after sessions on a pulsed electro-magnetic mat and brain-wave entrainment system. Something drove me to write these YA novels.

Now as I approach the wrapping up of the third book in the trilogy of mystery and thrills,

I may be coming to a peak again. Will it be done? This fulfillment of a need?

Will another compelling need push me down the slope again, demanding a slog upwards?

Now that I’m seventy, I may be hearing the siren’s song. Maybe age desires lyrics again.

Maybe it’s the Fates, my name for the Kates: the Grays and the de Gutes of the Portland writing world, who inspire and lure—more words, more memories, more songs to come.

And I hope to answer the call to raise my voice again in the poetry of youth.

Author of the Rainbow Award-winning “Death and Love at the Old Summer Camp” and “Love and Lechery at Albert Academy,” Dolores lives in Portland, Oregon, with her wife, Terrie. http://www.maggiorequeeries.com Michele Karlsberg Marketing and Management specializes in publicity for the LGBTQI community. This year, Karlsberg celebrates thirty years of successful book campaigns.

CHECK US OUT ONLINE! sfbaytimes.com issuu.com/sfbt sfbaytimes.com/castro-street-cam

KRAMER (continued from page 19) gay video, silently acknowledging his same-sex attractions. He later realizes them in his dreams and drawings. He eventually hopes to act on them with the neighbor.

the film has the brothers mimicking their dad when they are riding in the back bed of a truck, hanging over the sides watching the landscape pass by upside down.

We the Animals is more of a comingof-age tale than a coming out story.

There is a loss of innocence as Jonah (and Manny and Joel) grapple with their parents’ f ighting. And while there is a scene where Paps gives Jonah a haircut, symbolizing a life change, mostly the film lets the kids be kids, stealing food, slapping their father in humor and anger, or hiding under a sheet chanting “body heat, body heat.” One of the best scenes in

The film’s magic, therefore, lies in the cumulative power of the episodes that form and shape Jonah’s life. He panics in an early scene where Paps tries to teach Jonah how to swim in a lake.

And there is a curious scene where Paps digs a grave in the backyard, only to have Jonah lie on the muddy bottom and imagine himself floating above the ground.

These scenes convey the fear and possibility of childhood, but they also

serve as metaphors for Jonah’s budding sexuality. His masculine intimacy with his father and brothers is comfortable until it isn’t. He kisses his mother full on the mouth in one scene; that causes her to shun him.

And his fantasy about kissing the blonde male neighbor might end badly if acted upon. This buried tension informs the film and provides a narrative thread that builds to the stunning conclusion.

The performances by the three kids are terrific. They have a camaraderie that feels natural, never forced. They play well together and even the few times it becomes two against one, it

does not remain that way for too long.

Evan Rosado is fantastic in his role as Jonah. He expresses a depth to his character that resonates, because he carries his small body as if he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.

It’s a remarkable debut performance.

We the Animals is both downbeat and life-affirming. It races along like a child going every which way before stopping in its tracks and landing an emotional wallop.

In support, Raúl Castillo impresses as Paps, a man who never quite does the right thing but always seems to be looking for a break. When he articulates being stuck in poverty after one particular setback, it is devastating.

Likewise, Sheila Vand holds her own against Castillo, being both tough and vulnerable as her life grows increasingly more unbearable.

Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” Follow him on Twitter @ garymkramer

© 2018 Gary M. Kramer

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